Or…Fifth Avenue back in the day….
First time I visited the business library of the NYPL was last week. As I stood looking at the building, I remembered it was the former B. Altman & Co. department store.
And then it happened … a memory from years ago. A memory of the walks we (my family) took up Fifth Avenue starting with B. Altman back in the 50’s and 60’s. I think some of you, my peers to be exact, probably remember that stretch of Fifth Avenue from 34th to 59th filled with the most beautiful and iconic stores. Some still around and some gone forever.
We would walk from Penn Station to Fifth along 34th Street. Sometimes we stopped at Macy’s on the way and sometimes on the way back. Our first stop was always officially B. Altman.
After Altman’s we went to Lord and Taylor, walked by the Lions guarding the New York Public Library, to Rockefeller Center, Saks, Tiffany’s, Steuben Glass, St Patrick’s, Bonwit Tellers and FAO Schwarz. Lastly we visited Bergdorf Goodman.
Of course, we got dressed up! We wore a suit or a dress, stockings, high heels and sometimes even a pillbox hat. (Yes, our feet hurt…we didn’t care)
Plus, you know what? We never bought anything! The only thing we spent money on was food at the Automat, Schraffts and Top of the Sixes.
The restaurant, Top of the Sixes, was a very special treat for us. Reading about it now it was never known for its food, but for its glorious view and design. Truthfully, I can’t remember a thing we ate, I can only remember that spectacular view from some forty floors above Fifth.
Now it’s a Cigar Bar! Bonwit Tellers is now Trump Towers and Shraffts and the Automats are all gone. FAO Schwarz moved a few times and is now gone. Good thing about Altman’s is that the building has Landmark status, so its beautiful architecture remains.
After the window shopping and the walking thru stores and the admiring of the latest fashions, and the lunch, we walked back to Penn Station. As we sat on the LIRR with our shoes off (feet burning) we talked and laughed about our adventures. We had some really good ones, but that’s for another post!
LOVE THIS CITY…ALWAYS!
KAY’S NOTES:
IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Some of the buildings have been protected by the Landmark Commission; however, some have been torn down by developers including Bonwit Tellers which is now Trump Towers. FAO Schwarz on the corner of 59th and Fifth was moved to the GE building across the street and now out of business. Horn and Hardart Automats exist only at a special exhibit at the Smithsonian in DC.
GOOD TO KNOW: Lots of websites about historical New York and the ladies mile on Fifth. Just google – they’ll all come up.
Photographs courtesy of the Department Store Museum
Disclaimer: I try for correct info on my posts, but no guarantees people.
