Page 132 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

130  NE W Y ORK CIT Y AREA B Y AREA

Positive Thinking. Another positive White building here from 1893
thinker, future US president to 1921, the square was the hub
Richard M. Nixon, attended of the rowdy Tender loin district
services here when he was a law- in the 1870s and 1880s. Theaters
yer in his pre-White House days. such as the Manhattan Opera
The church was built in 1854 House, dance halls, hotels, and
using the marble blocks that give restaurants kept the area hum-
it its name. Fifth Avenue was then ming with life until reformers
no more than a dusty country clamped down on sleaze in the
road, and the cast-iron fence was 1890s. The ornamental Bennett
there to keep livestock out. clock, named for James Gordon
The original white and gold Bennett Jr., publisher of the
interior walls were replaced Herald, is now all that is left of
with a stenciled gold fleur- the Herald Building.
de-lis design on a soft rust The Opera House was razed in
back ground. Two stained-glass 1901 to make way for Macy’s
Marble Collegiate’s Tiffany stained- Tiffany windows, depicting and, soon after, other depart-
glass windows Old Testament scenes, were ment stores followed, making
placed in the south wall in Herald Square a mecca for
1 Marble Collegiate 1900 and 1901. shoppers. One such store was
Reformed Church the now-defunct Gimbel
Brothers Department Store,
1 W 29th St. Map 8 F3. Tel (212) 686- 2 Empire State once arch-rival to Macy’s. (The
2770. q 28th St. Open 8:30am– Building rivalry was affectionately
8:30pm Mon–Fri, 9am–4pm Sat, See pp132–3. portrayed in the New York
8am–3pm Sun. Closed public Christmas movie A Miracle on
hols. 5 11:15am Sun. ^ during 34th Street.) In 1988, the store
services. 7 Sanctuary 3 W 29th St. 3 Herald Square was converted into a vertical
Open 10am–noon & 2–4pm Mon–Fri. mall with a glittery neon front.
∑ marblechurch.org 6th Ave. Map 8 E2. q 34th St-Penn Most of the old names have
Station. See Shopping p314.
gone, but Herald Square is still a
This church is best known for its Named after the New York key shopping district packed
former pastor Norman Vincent Herald, which occupied a fine with chain stores. It also features
Peale, who wrote The Power of arcaded, Italianate Stanford a pedestrian plaza.

4 Macy’s
151 W. 34th St. Map 8 E2. Tel (212)
695-4400. q 34th St- Penn Station.
Open 10am–10pm Mon–Sat, 11am–
9pm Sun. See Shopping p313.
∑ macys.com
The “world’s largest store”
covers a square block, and the
merchandise inside includes
any item you could imagine
in every price range.
Macy’s was founded by a
former whaler named Rowland
Hussey Macy, who opened a
small store on West 14th Street
in 1858. The store’s red star logo
came from Macy’s tattoo, a
souvenir of his sailing days.
By the time Macy died in
1877, his little store had grown
to a row of 11 buildings, and
at the turn of the century it
had outgrown its 14th Street
pre mises. In 1902 it moved to
its present site, which covers a
staggering 2 million sq ft
Macy’s 34th Street facade (186,000 sq m).

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