Manhattan · New York County
600 Third Avenue
POPS - Outdoor Plaza
- Location
- 600 Third Avenue, at East 39th Street, Murray Hill / Midtown East
- Size
- 0.10 acres
- Hours
- Open during business hours
- Type
- POPS - Outdoor Plaza
600 Third Avenue is a Privately Owned Public Space on Third Avenue at 39th Street, providing an outdoor plaza at the boundary between Murray Hill and the Midtown office district.
Third Avenue in the upper 30s and 40s is a commercial corridor that serves both the Murray Hill residential neighborhood and the southern edge of the Midtown office district. The avenue's character changes noticeably as it moves northward from residential to commercial.
Third Avenue was transformed in the 1950s and 1960s when the elevated railway that had run along the avenue since 1878 was demolished. The removal of the 'El' opened the avenue to sunlight and triggered a wave of new construction that reshaped the corridor.
The POPS serves the commercial community at the Murray Hill / Midtown boundary, where the residential neighborhood's quieter character transitions to the more intensive commercial development to the north.
This plaza provides public outdoor space on an avenue whose transformation from elevated railway corridor to modern commercial boulevard is one of the defining infrastructure stories of postwar Manhattan.