Image Courtesy of NYCDOT
Today was announced a limited number of authentic street signs honoring Manhattan’s iconic 6.2 mile-long Fifth Avenue, the home to many of New York City’s greatest museums, boutiques, landmarks, and buildings. Today’s release is part of the agency’s monthly ‘sign drops’, pulled from the wide range of hand-made signs from the NYC DOT Sign Shop, which produces over 70,000 signs each year.
Fifth Avenue was originally a country road in northern Manhattan in the 1820s, to later become residential, and eventually the stretch adjacent to Central Park would be known as Millionaire’s Row. It would eventually extend to 14th Street with the opening of NYU in 1837, and later to where it now terminates at Washington Square Park. Beginning in the late 1870s and thriving to this day, Fifth Avenue is widely regarded as one of the most notable shopping districts in the world, alongside Bond Street in London, Via Monteleone in Milan, and Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Aside from Rockefeller Center and the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting, Fifth Avenue is home to Museum Mile and its many institutions, St. Andrew’s Church in Harlem, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Grand Army Plaza, the Plaza Hotel, the New York Public Library Main Branch, the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and many other notable destinations. Fifth Avenue also runs within six historic districts.
The architecture and historic importance of so many structures along the corridor have resulted in various landmark status designations, including the National Register of Historic Places, The National Historic Landmarks program, The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and World Heritage Sites.
The corridor has of course been features in pop culture and several movies, including Annie, Elf, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Wolf of Wall Street. The Plaza Hotel also famously hosted The Beatles during their 1964 world tour, and Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball. It also helpfully serves as the dividing line between “East” and “West” street addresses in Manhattan along its entire 6.2 mile stretch.
A limited release of 50 signs will be sold online for $100 each and are available one per customer. All signs will be sold via the CityStore, the Official Store of the City of New York, and proceeds will benefit the city’s general fund. This signage offers a bit of nostalgia and a literal piece of the city’s infrastructure.
Monthly sign drops from NYC DOT feature signs for iconic New York City streets, commemorations of famous New Yorkers, celebrations of special occasions, and other custom releases. NYC DOT began its monthly drops in June 2024, with the release of Christopher Street/Stonewall Place street signs to commemorate Pride Month.
Other recent sign drops include:
- Bleecker Street
- Mulberry Street
- Hip Hop Boulevard to celebrate the genre’s musical and cultural legacy
- Welcome to Queens: The World’s Borough
- Gay Street in recognition of Pride Month
- Wall Street
- Leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboudit
- East 161st Street and Shea Road in honor of baseball’s opening day
- Love Lane to recognize Valentine’s Day
- Broadway in celebration of Broadway Week
- Cornelia Street to honor the street’s prominence among pop music fans
About the NYC DOT Sign Shop
The New York City DOT Sign Shop is in Maspeth, Queens and manufactures over 70,000 signs each year. A team of 32 Sign Shop employees hand-make street signs, highway signs, directional signs, parking signs, and more. There are about one million NYC DOT signs in use across the 6,000 miles of streets in New York City.
The monthly sign drops are the latest iteration of sales that have historically been available from the Sign Shop
About the CityStore
CityStore is the Official store of the City of New York. CityStore is operated by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services. 100% of sales benefit the City of New York.
CityStore is similar to a museum store, which complements the museum by highlighting the treasures within while serving as a stand-alone retail entity for wonderful gifts, collectables and research materials. A museum store is a revenue source for the museum and reinforces and protects the integrity of the museum brand. CityStore is the ‘museum store’ for the entire City of New York.
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