The street was designated by theCommissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattanstreet grid as one of 15 east-west streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width (while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width).[5]
The interchange on the Hudson River and the boat basin was first proposed in 1934 and was constructed by 1937 during the tenure ofRobert Moses as Parks Commissioner. It was part of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure" which created a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from theHenry Hudson Parkway while eliminating agrade crossing of theNew York Central Railroad'sWest Side Line by covering it over and creating theFreedom Tunnel.[6] Designed byGilmore David Clarke, theWorks Projects Administration provided $5.1 million for the project, which also included an underground parking garage, a restaurant, and the marina.[7]
On the west side, the79th Street station on theNew York City Subway'sIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line is located at the intersection of 79th Street andBroadway, it is served by1 train during the daytime and1 and 2 trains during late nights. The 81st Street-Museum of Natural History station of the IND Eighth Avenue Line is located at 81st Street and Central Park West, and is served by trains that are local at all times.
TheM79 SBS crosstown bus route runs between East End Avenue and Riverside Drive via 79th Street at all times, using the roundabout near the79th Street Boat Basin to change direction. Eastbound service on the street heads to West 81st Street via Amsterdam Avenue due to Columbus Avenue being a downtown-only corridor, and ends at York Avenue.[11][12]
Between 6th and 7th Avenues, on the line of West 79th Street as it was drawn through what becameCentral Park was the south end of the Receiving Reservoir, a vital storage part of theCroton Aqueduct of 1842. Water was piped down fromWestchester County, over theHarlem River and down the west side to the Receiving Reservoir, located between 79th and86th Streets andSixth andSeventh Avenues in an area then known as Yorkville.[13] The Reservoir was a fortress-like building 1,826 feet (557 m) long and 836 feet (255 m) wide, and held up to 180 million US gallons (680,000 m3) of water, 35 million US gallons (130,000 m3) flowed into it daily from northern Westchester.
The south side of the block between Fifth and Madison is protected as a rare unbroken row of townhouses. It begins at the corner of Fifth with the French RenaissanceHarry F. Sinclair House (1897–98), now housing the Ukrainian Institute.
Four landmarked townhouses exist on the north side of 79th Street between Madison and Park Avenues:
On the street grid, East 79th Street leads to an unnumbered southbound-only entrance to theFDR Drive at East 78th Street. East 79th Street is also the southern end ofEast End Avenue, which runs north-south to 90th Street.
^Acitelli, Tom (March 25, 2008)."The Sit-Down:Morrison Heckscher, On the Park".The New York Observer. Archived fromthe original on October 20, 2008. RetrievedAugust 1, 2008.And the receiving reservoir of the Croton Aqueduct System—on a high plot of land between 79th and 86th streets, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, right outside my office there—that was completed in 1842.
^Arnold, Hallie (August 31, 2005)."One more drug offense could land Garfunkel in jail".Kingston Daily Freeman. Archived fromthe original on August 11, 2007. RetrievedAugust 1, 2008.Garfunkel, who lives on East 79th Street in Manhattan, pleaded guilty in that case and paid a $100 fine and a $100 surcharge.
^Hakim, Danny; O'Connor, Ahmad (March 12, 2008)."Spitzer to Resign Soon; Paterson Set as Successor".The New York Times. RetrievedAugust 1, 2008.Mr. Spitzer, who had been holed up at his apartment at Fifth Avenue and 79th Street in Manhattan since issuing an apology on Tuesday, emerged at about 11:15 a.m.
NY 9A /Henry Hudson Parkway inRiverside Park
FDR Drive inYorkville
Media related to79th Street (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons
