New York Avenues - Running North to South in NYC (2024)

New York City has an iconic grid-like street system where the streets run from east to west, while avenues in New York run from north to south. As a New Yorker, I find this grid incredibly convenient as it defines the location just by saying, for instance, 45^th between 2^nd and 3^rd, which translates to 45^th Street between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenue. Once the street numbers change to street names, I often have to rely on Google Maps to figure out how to get someplace.

The grid as we know it was largely defined by the Commissioners Plan of 1811, which structured Manhattan in a series of cross streets north of Houston Street. The grid system was designed to promote efficient transportation and urban planning, and it has been a defining characteristic of New York City and its neighborhoods ever since.

One of the questions I am asked often is how many avenues there are in NYC. The answer is not as simple as it sounds as the avenues are not all evenly numbered, and there are certain avenues that run for a few blocks only.

Avenues of New York

It is generally said that Avenues in Manhattan run north to south from 1^st to 12^th Avenue, which is true for the most part in Midtown Manhattan. However, there are a few avenues that have names, few avenues that change names, and then Broadway cuts across Manhattan to keep it interesting.

Here is a list of the main avenues in Midtown Manhattan in order from East to West –

• 1^st Avenue
• 2^nd Avenue
• 3^rd Avenue
• Lexington Avenue, also referred to as Lex
• Park Avenue
• Madison Avenue
• Fifth Avenue, which divides Manhattan into East and West
• Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas
• Seventh Avenue, also known as Fashion Avenue in the Garment District
• Broadway, which intersects avenues at different points
• Eighth Avenue, which changes to Central Park West from 59^th Street to 110^th Street
• Ninth Avenue, which is known as Columbus Avenue north of 59^th Street
• Tenth Avenue, which is known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59^th Street
• Eleventh Avenue
• Twelfth Avenue, or West Side Highway

Avenues in Manhattan

For those so inclined, here is a more detailed list of Manhattan avenues, and their coordinates.

The NYC Avenues noted below run from East to West, and their coordinates are given from South to North. I am adding in all the avenues in Manhattan that I am familiar with, including 4^th Ave which runs a short distance and is not usually a part of any list of avenues, and 6½ Avenue, which is a pedestrian passageway but nonetheless has the word avenue in its name so it is in this list.

Avenues A-D extend East of 1st Avenue in an area known as Alphabet City.

Avenue D

Ave D extends between 13^th and Houston Street. South of Houston street, it changes names to Columbia Street through Delancey Street and Abraham E Kazan Street till Grand Street.

Avenue C

Ave C, also known as Loisaida Avenue, runs from East Houston Street through 23^rd Street. South of East Houston Street, it is called Pitt Street and Montgomery Street till it ends at South Street.

Avenue B

Ave B runs from Houston Street through 14^th Street. South of Houston Street, it is known as Clinton Street till South Street. Avenue B is a discontinuous Avenue, and was renamed East End Avenue from 79th to 90th Street.

Avenue A

Ave A runs from Houston Street to 14^th Street. South of Houston Street, it is known as Essex Street through Canal Street, south of which it is called Rutgers Street. Avenue A is a discontinuous Avenue, and was renamed Sutton Place north from 53rd Street and York Avenue north from 59th Street through 92^nd Street.

First Avenue

1^st Avenue runs from Houston Street to 127^th Street, and is known as Allen Street south of Houston Street.

Second Avenue

2^nd Ave, which extends from Houston Street to 128^th Street. South of Houston Street, it is known as Chrystie Street through to Canal Street.

Third Avenue

3^rd Ave, which begins at Astor Place and St Marks Place and all the way north to 128^th Street. South of this, it is known as Cooper Square, Bowery, Chatham Square and Park Row.

Fourth Avenue

4^thAve runs from Cooper Square at 8^th Street to Union Square at 14^th Street, and changes to Park Avenue north of 14^thStreet.

Lexington Avenue

Lexington Ave, also called Lex, runs from 21^st Street through 131^st Street.

Park Avenue

Park Ave, originally called 4^th Avenue, is called Union Square East from 14^th to 17^th Street, Park Avenue South from 17^th to 32^nd Street, and ends at 132^nd Street.

Madison Avenue

Madison Ave extends from Madison Square at 23^rd Street to 142^nd Street,

Fifth Avenue

5^th Ave runs from Washington Square Park to 143^rd Street, and divides Manhattan into East and West. Street numbers begin at Fifth Avenue and go higher the further you move away, marked as East and West based on which side of Fifth Avenue they are on. The signs below are both on 50th Street and Fifth Avenue, but look carefully as one side says E 50 St and the other says W 50 St. You can also see in the sign below that E 50th Street, which is along St Patrick’s Cathedral, is also known as John Cardinal O’Connor Way, which means this street has an honorory name dedicated to John Cardinal O’Connor.

Sixth Avenue

6^th Avenue, also known as Avenue of Americas, begins at Franklin Street and runs through 59^th Street or Central Park South. North of Central Park, this becomes Malcolm X Boulevard or Lenox Ave from 110^thStreet to 147^th Street.

6½ Avenue

6½ Avenue is not really an avenue but a pedestrian passageway between West 51^st to West 57^th Streets between 6^th and 7^th Avenues.

Broadway

Broadway, which cuts across Manhattan, begins at State Street at Bowling Green, and runs through Manhattan, the Bronx, and even Westchester. It follows the original Wickguasgeck trail of the original Native American inhabitants, then renamed to Bredeh Wegh – Broad Way – in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and then renamed Broadway under the British.

From 42nd to 47th Street, this runs through Times Square, otherwise known as the Crossroads of the World.

Seventh Avenue

7th Ave, also known as Fashion Avenue in the Garment District, begins at Clarkson Street where Varick Street becomes Seventh Avenue South, is then named Seventh Avenue from the cross section of Greenwich Avenue and West 11^th Street, all the way up to Central Park at 59^th Street. It runs through Times Square from 42nd – 47th Street. North of Central Park, it is called Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard from 110^th Street.

Eighth Avenue

8th Ave, which changes to Central Park West from 59^thStreet to 110^thStreet along Central Park, and thenFrederick Douglas Boulevard North of Central Park at 110^thStreet

Ninth Avenue

9th Ave, begins at Gansevoort Street and runs through 59^th Street, where its name changes to Columbus Avenue through West 110^th Street, where its name changes to Morningside Drive through 122^nd Street.

Tenth Avenue

10th Ave, which begins a block below Gansevoort Street and 11^th Avenue, changes to Amsterdam AvenueNorth of 59^thStreet. Amsterdam Avenue runs for 129 blocks.

Eleventh Avenue

11th Ave begins at the intersection of Gansevoort Street, Tenth Avenue and West Street, and changes to West End Avenueat 59^thStreet through 107^th Street. It is part of the West Side Highway between 22^nd Street and Gansevoort Street.

Twelfth Avenue

12^thAve, which originates as West Street at Battery Park, runs as Eleventh Avenue from Gansevoort Street to 22^nd Street, where 12^th Avenue branches off and runs through 72^nd Street, where it becomes the Henry Hudson Parkway.

St Nicholas Avenue

St Nicholas Avenue runs from Washington Heights down through Harlem, predates the 1811 plan and follows an old Indian trail through Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Harlem.

Width of a New York City Avenues

Avenues in Manhattan are 100 feet wide with some exceptions, such as

• Lexington Avenue which is 75 feet
• Broadway is 150 ft above 59th Street
• Madison Avenue is 75 feet South of 42nd Street, 80 ft North of 42nd Street, and becomes 100 ft from 120th to 124th Streets
• Sixth Ave is 150 ft North of 110th Street when it becomes Malcolm X Blvd
• Seventh Avenue is 150 ft when it becomes Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard North of 110th Street
• Eleventh Avenue is 150 feet when it is West End Avenue North of 110th Street

Manhattan Streets

Streets in Manhattan run east to west. Numbered streets in the island of Manhattan run from 1^stStreet to 220^thStreet, but the area of Marble Hill also falls within the borough of Manhattan, so the highest street number for the borough of Manhattan is 228^thStreet.Downtown Manhattan has named streets that can be easily navigated using Google Maps.

Street numbers higher than 228 fall within the Bronx, which has numbered streets all the way up to 263^rdStreet.

Streets in Manhattan are usually 60 ft wide, except for the main cross streets such as 14th, 23rd, 34^th, 42^nd, 57^th, 72^nd, 79^th, and so on, which are 100 feet wide.

Fun Fact 1 – Original Bolt from the Manhattan Grid

As a fun fact, there is an original bolt from when the cross streets were being marked out still to be found in Central Park. Its location is somewhat of an open secret online, though I am respecting the City’s decision not to make it a marked landmark.

Fun Fact 2 – Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway, which is the first coast to coast highway in the US, began at the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway in Times Square. It was originally a 3,389 mile highway built in 1913 from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. Although the highway system has evolved away from its beginnings in Times Square, there is a marker for Lincoln Highway at the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway even today to mark this historic highway.