Welcome to the Upper East Side! It is home to some of Manhattan’s elites and known for its for its media reference in multiple shows. Though most of its residence would prefer to vacation in the Hamptons it is undoubtably the home of some of the wealthiest people in the world. The upper east side is made up of several other smaller neighborhoods with three main ones surrounding it. The first of the three main neighborhoods is the Lenox Hill neighborhood and it forms the lower part of the Upper East Side. The second main neighborhood is Carnegie Hill and is located North-West of the Upper East Side and makes up the top side of the Upper East Side. Finally, the third neighborhood is Yorkville, located North-East of Carnegie Hill and overlooks the East River. Ironically enough, the Upper East Side does not actually have set boundaries in New York City, however it is widely accepted that the south boundary is 59th street, and the north boundary is 96th street. Some real estate agents will even refer to East Harlem as the upper east side regardless of it being beyond the boundary, this is done to avoid any sort of negative connotations from the name of the neighborhood.
Before the state of New York was ever even colonized, the Upper East Side was a collection of streams that most Native Americans would fish out of at the time. Then in the 19th century the addition of railroads, commercial and residential began to come in. The Upper East Side caused attraction due to it overlooking the East River, and with that it began to attract much wealthier people. This eventually led to Villas, country houses, and different luxury homes being built the wealthier population. These town houses did not last however, eventually due to the fast growing population, the first apartment building went up and soon after many others followed. This led to more transportation being made to compensate for the influx of more people from different areas. For a while, the Upper East Side had an elevated railway that would cause noise pollution around the area. Eventually the railway was demolished and replaced by the Second Avenue Line in 1919. This brought in new commercial and residential buildings, soon the construction of high-rise apartment blocks began in the 1950’s.
The Upper East Side is home to the majority of New York City’s wealthy, and as of a 2002 census stated that the Upper East Side had the highest price per square feet in the United States of America. This influx of wealth in one area means that the majority of its landmarks and cultural institutions are located in the Upper East Side. another sight of its wealth is also its residence, often times your won’t see them get into any old taxi, even if they Can afford it. The residence of the Upper East Side prefer a more prestige car service, even opting to limo services to get them around. Nicknamed Museum Mile, Once known as Millionaire’s Row, the Upper East Side host multiple Museums, Art Galleries, Hotels, Houses of Worship, and even Diplomatic Missions. All of these landmarks and buildings are spread around the Upper East Side and located all over the three main neighborhoods.
The lower portion of the Upper East Side is named Lenox Hill, the name came of a combination of the hill that the neighborhood was built upon and a Scottish immigrant who owned about five miles (8 Km) of land. Lenox Hill has numerous luxury apartments and hotels along Madison Avenue. Lenox Hill is home to many cultural sites and most of its art galleries, the most well known being The Frick Collection, an art collection known for its European paintings and fantastic decorative arts. The Frick building is a repurposed mansion which boasts an early-1900’s aesthetic to it, which was reformed to hold those art pieces. Along with this art gallery the neighborhood of Lenox Hill also hosts the Asia Society and Museum, Central Park Carousel, the Park Avenue Armory, and many more.
Lenox Hill is filled with a lot of great spots to park up and eat, whether that be getting a quick sandwich or sitting down to eat. There’s also a lot of great spaces for people looking to get some work done whether that be somewhere cozy like the Local Café or even a brand store like Starbucks!
Lenox Hill itself is located near the bottom middle of the Upper East Side, this tends to mark it as one of the most expensive neighborhoods to live in. However, that doesn’t apply to its retail stores! You’ll find that most places in Lenox Hill are very reasonably priced, though you should keep in mind that you won’t find most of its retail stores on maps. Lenox Hill is filled with neighborhood friendly shops that rely more on word of mouth instead of advertising. This can make Lenox Hill a great place for anyone looking to explore new places on the Upper East Side. Though try not to act to surprised when you see a few taxis pulling in for tourists on vacation.
Though, Lenox Hill is known for its progress in the medical aspect, Lenox Hill is home to The Lenox Hill Hospital which is at the forefront in research and treatment in neurology, neurosurgery, sports medicine, cardiovascular care, orthopedics, head and neck surgery, child health and internal medicine.
Carnegie Hill is the second of the three main neighborhoods and is located at the North-End of the Upper East Side. Carnegie Hill got its name from the owner of one of its most remarkable mansions, the owner being Andrew Carnegie himself. Andrew Carnegie’s mansion is now a historical landmark and currently the Mansion has been converted to a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. Carnegie Hill features apartment buildings alongside Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The neighborhood also has multiple condos, co-ops, a few brownstones scattered around, townhouses, and what remaining mansions do exist have been converted into museums or schools. Carnegie Hill overlooks the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir within Central Park, it also holds many of the neighborhoods art venues, wine bars, and various cafe’s. There are also a variety of cuisine options in the Upper East Side. If you’re looking for Italian then try taking a taxi to Parma Nuova, located in-between Lenox Hill and Yorkville, they offer excellent Italian cuisine. However its most well known for its most famous art venue, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Yorkville covers the the literal upper east side of the Upper East Side, going from the top of East 96th St down all the way to East 72nd St. Yorkville has many different historical buildings and architecture, this is due to the neighborhood being a major part of the Revolutionary War. For most of the late 19th century into the early 20th century most of the families that came over where German and over time it became Irish, Polish, Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, and many other races. In the 1950’s the city began to remodel Third Avenue El by demolishing most of its cafe’s and commercial buildings.
The dismantling of the avenue led to many mansions being demolished. This was done to make way for a more high rise residential buildings, such buildings went up during the 1980’s. This lead to an influx of wealthy residents that looked to make New York City their home.
Yorkville is also home to multiple shops and markets for visitors to enjoy, some markets even hosts holiday events. There you’ll find plenty of shopping, dining, and even drinking. Most markets on Yorkville provide indoor dining for visitors who want to grab a bite after shopping. Isle of Us is a great example of this as they’re both a café and a home goods shop for anyone looking to visit.
The Upper East Side features many different landmarks and historical districts that can be explored throughout the neighborhood. Multiple museums are located in the area including Jewish Museum of New York, El Museo del Barrio, Andrew Carnegie Mansion (repurposed to a Smithsonian Design Museum), its most famous one the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and many many more. The neighborhood also features many Hotels, Art Galleries, Houses of Worship, and many historical districts. With so much to do the neighborhood can be rather overwhelming to get around the Upper East Side for any visitor. Luckily if you are planning a day out and figure you need transportation New York City has many options to get around town. While most of the residents of New York City would rather use the subway as it is very convenient this does not always apply with the Upper East Side. With most of the residents being some of the most important and wealthiest people in the world, most residence will opt to either hail a taxi or use a car service. This means that New York City has an ungodly amount of car transportation companies but more importantly, high-class limo services. This is all too important when visiting New York City but more important when going to the Upper East Side and with so many different limo companies to choose from its nice knowing you will never be left stranded in the city. Many New York executive car services can take you around town on an hourly service or even if you’re just going from one point to another. If you’re coming in from out of town then there is no need to worry, most New York black car companies can drive you long distances, this can mean more then just from New Jersey to New York, or Connecticut to New York. Now a days most luxury car companies can drive you out even further, such as Philadelphia to New York, Washington D.C. to New York, and even Massachusetts to New York. If you happen to be booking a trip and need a recommendation on a car company we suggest My Destiny Limo.
Overall, no vacation in New York City is complete without at least one trip to the Upper East Side. After all the prestige’s area has many activities around the three headed neighborhood. Luxury shops with clothes that can put you in debt just by looking at them and cafes that make you feel like you’re eating the best food in the world. Apartment high rises with a fantastic view of not only the other boroughs but of Manhattan itself. The Upper East Side is one of the United State’s most expensive places to live so if you ever wondered where most of the worlds wealthiest people live. It’s right here on The Upper East Side.