Two of the world’s most famous streets run parallel to each other through Manhattan, a mere 420 feet apart. Fifth Avenue is known globally for its fashion and shopping; Madison Avenue is synonymous with the advertising industry. But over the past few decades, an increasing number of elite luxury brands have made the latter their home.
With the grand opening of the new Hermes flagship store, has Madison Avenue finally taken over as the place to be seen in the Big Apple? Ingeniously named for its location between Fourth (now Park) and Sixth Avenues. Indirectly names after President James Madison. (The avenue begins at Madison Square, which is directly named after him.
) Holly Golightly wearing last night’s black dress outside her favorite store in Breakfast at Tiffany’s . United Archives GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo Don Draper falling from the Sterling Cooper offices during the opening credits of Mad Men . After the Civil War, Mary Mason Jones built a series of mansions between 57th and 58th streets, minting the original Millionaire’s Row.
The Vanderbilts (and everyone else) followed suit. Madison wasn’t part of the 1811 plan for Manhattan’s rectangular grid. Developer Samuel B.
Ruggles used his influence to have it pass through land he owned—and make it more valuable. If Mayor Eric Adams gets his way, Fifth will soon expand sidewalks for pedestrians, establish new bike lanes and cordon off green spaces. Last September, Hermès opened a 45,000-square-foot flagship store on 706 Madison.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Armani, Bergdorf Goodman, Bulgari, Harry Winston, Gucci, Louis Vuitton , Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co. and Prada B. O’Kane/Alamy Stock Photo Alexander McQueen, Hermès, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, La Perla, Ralph Lauren and Prada (again) Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s mansion at 57th and Fifth, the largest private home ever built in the Big Apple, was demolished in 1926 to make way for Bergdorf Goodman.
Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo spent lavishly building a house at 72nd and Madison—and never moved in. It’s been Ralph Lauren’s flagship since 1986. In 2018, after 123 years in business, Henri Bendel shut its flagship location at 56th and Fifth.
Patti McConville / Alamy Stock Photo The globally beloved Barneys at 61st and Madison closed its doors in 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Disputes about where Fifth’s Museum Mile starts and ends abound, but no one disagrees about which institution is the crown jewel: the Metropolitan Museum of Art . Sean Pavone/Alamy Stock Photo The brutalist pile at 75th and Madison was the Whitney before it became the Met Breuer.
It now temporarily houses the Frick Collection while its usual home—on Fifth—is renovated. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images No one comes here for the food. If you really want breakfast at Tiffany’s, its Blue Box Café is expected to reopen later this year.
Carnivores aren’t thrilled about the new plant-based menu at Michelin three-star Eleven Madison Park . Maybe you’ll want that hot dog after all. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images.
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