Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)

North-south avenue in Manhattan, New York

Template:Attached KML/Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)

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Ninth AvenueColumbus Avenue (59th–110th Streets)
Morningside Drive (north of 110th Street)

The avenue in Hell's Kitchen

Owner| City of New York
Maintained by| NYCDOT
Length| 5.7 mi (9.2 km)[1]
Location| Manhattan, New York City
South end| Greenwich Street
North end| Broadway above West 220th Street in Inwood, Manhattan
East| Eighth Avenue (below 59th Street)
Central Park West (59th–110th Streets)
West| Tenth Avenue (below 59th Street)
Amsterdam Avenue (above 59th Street)
Construction
Commissioned| March 1811

Ninth Avenue, known as Columbus Avenue between West 59th and 110th Streets, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Traffic runs downtown (southbound) from the Upper West Side to Chelsea. Two short sections of Ninth Avenue also exist in the Inwood neighborhood, carrying two-way traffic.

## Description

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Ninth Avenue originates just south of West 14th Street at Gansevoort Street in the West Village, and extends uptown for 48 blocks until its intersection with West 59th Street, where it becomes Columbus Avenue – named after Christopher Columbus. It continues without interruption through the Upper West Side to West 110th Street, where its name changes again, to Morningside Drive, and runs north through Morningside Heights to West 122nd Street.

A one-block stretch of Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets is also signed as "Oreo Way".[2] The first Oreo cookies were manufactured in 1912 at the former Nabisco headquarters on that block.[2]

The portion of the avenue between 14th and 31st Streets was remodeled in 2008 with a bicycle lane between the eastern curb and the parking lane, followed by another portion between 77th and 96th Streets in 2011.[3]

Above the Lincoln Square neighborhood—where the ABC television network houses its corporate headquarters in a group of rehabilitated and modern buildings—Columbus Avenue passes through the Central Park West Historic District, stretching from 67th/68th Streets to 89th Street. There, the avenue presents a unified streetscape of 5- to 7-story tenement buildings of brick and brownstone with discreet Romanesque and Italianate details, employing cast terracotta details and panels and courses of angle-laid brickwork. Many ornate tin cornices remain. The buildings are separated in mid-block by the narrowest of access alleys, giving glimpses of Ailanthus foliage in the side-street yards. The repeated designs of three or four commercial speculative builders, using the same features and detailing, add to the avenue's architectural unity. There are several generously scaled pre-World War I apartment buildings and the former Endicott Hotel, as well as a small commercial block from the office of McKim, Mead, and White at 72nd Street.

Between 77th and 81st Streets, Columbus Avenue borders the American Museum of Natural History and Theodore Roosevelt Park.[4]

Ninth Avenue reappears in the Inwood neighborhood as a short two-way street in two segments interrupted by the New York City Subway's 207th Street Yard. It runs from West 201st Street to West 208th Street, dead-ending at Inwood North Cove Park at the Harlem River,[1] then picks up again at West 215th Street, and terminates at Broadway between West 220th Street and the Broadway Bridge, at the location where West 221st Street would normally be.[1] The addresses along this upper stretch from 201st Street to Broadway are continuous with the lower portion of Ninth Avenue.

## History

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The Ninth Avenue Elevated was a passenger train that ran above Ninth Avenue, beginning in the nineteenth century. The lease for the line was assumed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) on April 1, 1903.[5] The line ran until it was closed and dismantled in 1940, following the purchase of the IRT by the City of New York, as it was made redundant by the city's Eighth Avenue subway line.

Ninth Avenue and Columbus Avenue were converted to carry one-way traffic southbound in two stages. South of its intersection with Broadway, the avenue was converted on November 6, 1948.[6][7] The remaining stretch, to 110th Street, was converted on December 6, 1951.[8]

In 2007, Ninth Avenue became the first major north-south avenue in Manhattan with a protected bike lane.[9] The bike lane initially extended only from 23rd to 16th Street.[9][10] A protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue was built between 96th and 77th Street in 2010–2011; the bike lane led to increases in vehicular speeds, since drivers were no longer stuck behind bicyclists.[11] After a $231 million project that replaced some of the water pipes under Ninth Avenue, the segment between 59th and 50th Street was narrowed to three travel lanes in March 2023, and a painted sidewalk and protected bike lane were added.[12][13]

The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival street fair is held every year in May. [14]

## Transportation

[edit]

Uptown buses use 10th Avenue unless specified below:

* The M11 is the primary server of Ninth Avenue, running along the entire segment.
* The M100 runs downtown north of West 215th Street.
* The M7 runs from Duke Ellington Boulevard to Broadway.
* The M79 SBS runs from West 81st to West 79th Streets.
* The uptown M20 runs from West 66th Street to Broadway, before starting downtown service at West 63rd Street.
* The M34A SBS runs from West 43rd to West 34th Streets, but starts service at West 42nd. Uptown buses use 8th Avenue.
* The M12 and M14D SBS run south of West 18th Street. Uptown buses use West Street.[15]

The New York City Subway's IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (1 train) has a station on Columbus Avenue at 66th Street and Broadway).[15]

## Points of interest

[edit]

* Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, on Ninth Avenue and 55th Street
* American Museum of Natural History
* Chelsea, neighborhood
* Church of St. Paul the Apostle
* Church of the Holy Apostles
* Fordham University
* Gansevoort Market
* Hell's Kitchen, neighborhood

* John Jay College
* Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, intersection of Columbus Avenue and Broadway (near 65th Street)
* Manhattan West
* Moynihan Station
* Port Authority Bus Terminal, 41st Street
* Roosevelt Hospital
* 66th Street – the only subway station on Ninth or Columbus Avenues, serving the 1 and ​2 trains

|

## Gallery

[edit]

* The Hotel Gansevoort at 19 Ninth Avenue

* The interior of Chelsea Market, the main entrance of which is on Ninth Avenue between 15th-16th Streets

* The Maritime Hotel at 16th-17th Streets

* The Fulton Houses of the New York City Housing Authority at 18th Street

* The Penn South housing complex at 25th Street

* The Church of the Holy Apostles at 28th Street

* B&H Photo Video at 34th Street

* The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival

* The lobby of the Film Center Building at 44th-45th Streets

* The Manhattan New York Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 65th-66th Streets

## In popular culture

[edit]

* Ninth Avenue is the setting of Saul Steinberg's View of the World from 9th Avenue.
* In the TV show Seinfeld, the street set on which most of the street scenes were filmed was based on Columbus Avenue.
* In the play The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, Jerry claims to live between Columbus Avenue and Central Park.

## See also

[edit]

* New York City portal

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ a b c "Ninth Avenue / Columbus Avenue" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
2. ^ a b Hinkley, David (2012-05-20). "Celebrating the life of 'Mr. Oreo'". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on June 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
3. ^ Olea, Rebecca (October 12, 2011). "Columbus Ave. bike path gets two thumbs up". Crain's New York Business.
4. ^ "Theodore Roosevelt Park". www.nycgovparks.org. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
5. ^ Feinman, Mark S. "Continuing the Story of the 9th Avenue El". Retrieved 2009-08-04. "On April 1, 1903, the entire Manhattan Elevated system was leased to the IRT Company for 999 years. Subway system construction was planned to connect with the Els at various points. By June 25, 1903, the last steam-powered elevated train was operated in passenger service on the 9th Ave El."
6. ^ Ingraham, Joseph C. (7 November 1948). "Traffic Speeded on 9th, 10th Aves. By One-way Plan". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
7. ^ "Ninth and Tenth Avenues Are One Way Permanently". The New York Times. 14 May 1949. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
8. ^ "Two More Avenues One-way Thursday". The New York Times. 4 December 1951. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
9. ^ a b Neuman, William (September 23, 2007). "A Busy City Street Makes Room for Bikes". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
10. ^ Hogarty, Dave (September 23, 2007). "Cars To Protect Cyclists on 9th Ave". Gothamist. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
11. ^ Stromberg, Joseph (September 8, 2014). "Bike lanes have actually sped up car traffic in New York City". Vox. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
12. ^ "'Super Sidewalks' Hit Midtown: Check Out the New Ninth Avenue". NBC New York. March 21, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
13. ^ "NYC traffic: City cuts ribbon on improvements along 9th Avenue corridor in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan". abc7ny.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
14. ^ Ninth Avenue International Food Festival
15. ^ a b "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 9th Avenue (Manhattan).

* New York Songlines: Ninth Avenue, a virtual walking tour

* v
* t
* e

Streets of Manhattan

* Commissioners' Plan of 1811
* List of eponymous streets in New York City
* List of numbered streets in Manhattan

North–south|

| Major avenues|

* 1st Av
* 2nd Av
* 3rd Av
* Lexington Av
* Park Av
* Madison Av
* 5th Av
* Broadway
* 6th Av (Av of the Americas)
* Lenox Av
* 7th Av (Fashion Av)
* 8th Av
* 9th Av
* 10th Av
* 11th Av
* 12th Av

|

Financial District|

* South
* Pearl
* Broad
* William
* Nassau
* Theatre Alley
* Whitehall
* Canyon of Heroes
* State
* West

Lower East Side|

* Allen
* Pike
* Baxter
* Centre Market Pl
* Bowery
* Centre
* Division
* Chrystie
* Coenties Slip
* Eldridge
* Elizabeth
* Essex
* Forsyth
* Lafayette
* Doyers
* Rivington
* Ludlow
* Mott
* Mulberry
* Orchard
* Park Row
* Spring
* Cherry

Lower West Side|

* Cortlandt Alley
* Trinity Pl
* Church
* Greenwich
* Hudson
* Jones
* MacDougal
* Patchin Pl
* Sullivan
* Gay
* Thompson
* Varick
* Washington
* W Broadway
* LaGuardia Pl
* Weehawken
* West Side Hwy
* Bank
* 13th Av

East Village / Gramercy|

* Ave D
* Ave C
* Ave B
* Ave A
* Asser Levy Pl
* Shevchenko Pl
* Irving Pl
* 4th Av
* Union Square E
* Park Av S
* University Pl
* Union Square W

Midtown|

* Beekman Pl
* Sutton Pl
* Park Av Viaduct
* Park Av Tunnel
* Vanderbilt Av
* Rockefeller Plz
* 6½ Av
* Great White Way
* Shubert Alley
* Dyer Av
* Hudson Blvd

Upper East / Upper West|

* East End Av
* York Av
* Museum Mile
* East Dr
* Center Dr
* West Dr
* Central Park W
* Columbus Av
* Amsterdam Av
* West End Av
* Riverside Dr

Harlem / Wash. Hts.|

* Pleasant Av
* Lenox Av (Malcolm X Blvd)
* Powell Blvd
* Douglass Blvd
* Morningside Dr
* Audubon Av
* St. Nicholas Av (Duarte Blvd)
* Claremont Av
* Ft. Washington Av
* Cabrini Blvd
* Sylvan Pl
* Tiemann Pl

East–west|

| Financial District|

* Bridge
* Stone
* Marketfield
* Beaver
* Exchange Pl
* Wall
* Albany
* Liberty
* Cortlandt St/Wy
* Maiden La
* Dey
* Fulton
* Vesey
* Ann

|

Downtown|

* Spruce
* Roosevelt
* Chambers
* E Broadway
* Henry
* Madison
* Cherry
* Worth
* N Moore
* Broome
* Canal
* Hester
* Grand
* Delancey
* Stanton
* Houston
* Vandam
* Bleecker
* Bond
* Great Jones
* 4th
* Waverly Pl
* Washington Square N
* Astor Pl
* Washington Mews
* Stuyvesant
* Macdougal Alley
* 8th
* St. Mark's Pl
* Greenwich Av
* Christopher
* Charles
* 14th

Midtown|

* 23rd
* 34th
* 42nd
* 45th (George Abbott Way)
* 47th
* 50th
* 51st
* 52nd (Swing Alley / St of Jazz)
* 53rd
* 54th
* 55th
* 57th
* 59th (Central Park S)

Uptown|

* 66th / Peter Jennings Way
* 72nd
* 74th
* 79th
* 85th
* 86th
* 89th
* 93rd
* 95th
* 96th
* 110th (Cathedral Pkwy / Central Park N)
* 116th
* 125th (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
* 130th (Astor Row)
* 132nd
* 133rd
* 139th (Strivers' Row)
* 145th
* 155th
* Bogardus Pl
* Dyckman
* Plaza Lafayette

Intersections|

| Circles|

* Columbus
* Duke Ellington
* Frederick Douglass

|

Squares|

* Chatham
* Cooper
* Duarte
* Duffy
* Foley
* Gramercy Park
* Grand Army Plz
* Hanover
* Herald
* Hudson
* Jackson
* Lincoln
* Madison
* Mulry
* Pershing
* Petrosino
* Sherman
* Stuyvesant
* Times
* Tompkins
* Union
* Verdi
* Washington
* Zuccotti Park

* Italics indicate streets no longer in existence.
* All entries are streets, circles, or squares unless otherwise noted
* See also: Manhattan address algorithm

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