Murray Hill

Where: Midtown, on the East Side; bounded north by 42^nd Street and south by 23^rd Street. The area runs from the East River to Park Avenue South between 23^rd Street and 34^th Street, and expands from the East River to Fifth Avenue between 34^th Street and 42^nd Street. Kips Bay refers to 23^rd Street to 42^nd Street east of Third Avenue.

Nearest subway: 6 train to 33^rd Street

Murray Hill is Manhattan’s townhouse central. Of 100 townhouses enumerated in a social register from 1892, 60 are still in existence. Many of these single-family homes of three or four stories, some which have been recently renovated, stand alongside high-rise condo towers. Former business outposts on Madison and Fifth Avenue are being converted into new loft-like apartments.

One of Murray’s Hill’s cultural gems is the Morgan Library, which houses a renowned art collection featuring such highlights as Mozart symphonies, Gutenberg bibles, and Babylonian seals and amulets. The original building, the home of the famed financier Pierpont Morgan, is an Italian Renaissance palazzo heralded as an architectural masterpiece of the early 20^th century. The Kips Bay area, in addition to its many shopping and dining options, has a major movie theater.