52nd Street (Manhattan)

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For the jazz funk band, see 52nd Street (band).

For the Billy Joel album, see 52nd Street (album).

52nd Street, properly West 52nd Street, is a cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan in the Broadway district. 52nd Street has been known as "Swing Street", "the street of jazz", "the street that never sleeps" and simply, "the street".

[edit] Jazz center

The blocks of 52nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue were renowned in the mid 20th century for the abundance of jazz clubs and lively street life. The street was convenient to musicians playing on Broadway and the "legitimate" nightclubs and was also the site of a CBS studio. Musicians who played for others in the early evening played for themselves on 52nd Street.

In its heyday from 1930 through 1960, 52nd Street clubs hosted such jazz legends as Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, Fats Waller, Harry Gibson, and many more. Although musicians from all schools performed there, 52nd Street was central in the dissemination of bebop.

Virtually every great jazz player and singer of the era performed at clubs such as The Onyx, the Downbeat, the Three Deuces, the Yacht Club, Jimmy Ryan's, and The Famous Door. Noted jazz disc jockey Symphony Sid frequently did live broadcasts from the street, making it famous across the country.

By the late 1950s the jazz scene began moving elsewhere around the city and urban renewal took hold of the street. By the 1960s, most of the legendary clubs were razed or fell into disrepair. The last club there closed its doors in 1968. Today, the street is full of banks, shops, and department stores and shows little trace of its jazz history.

[edit] Notable sites

• The Seagram Building is a 156.9 meters tall, 38 story skyscraper located at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd Street and 53rd Street. It was designed by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in collaboration with the American Philip Johnson and was completed in 1958.

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