Midtown Manhattan is the busiest commercial district in the United States. This photo, taken from the Rockefeller Center observatory, is a closeup of a small section along Fifth Avenue in the 40s and gives a good sense of the density of buildings (click here for another view).

There is no precise, agreed upon definition of Midtown, but at the very least, it covers the area from Central Park to 34th Street and from 3rd Avenue to 9th Avenue. In this area alone, there are numerous districts, squares, stations, buildings, centers, and flagship retail stores – many of the sites known to visitors around the world are found in this small area of only about 2 square miles.

One reason I chose this photo was that I was intrigued by the attractive slab skyscraper building on the far left with its large friezes at the crown. A little digging and research this morning revealed this to be the Fred F. French building, a deco gem built in 1927 by a real estate tycoon – I think I will cover this building in another post. In doing this photoblog, I am learning about a myriad of beautiful buildings which I never really noticed. I hope that you are enjoying the process of mutual discovery…