In the early 19th century, Fifth Avenue was a country road to Yorkville. Construction of 5th Avenue began in 1824. The site of Washington Square, where 5th Ave. begins, became a public park in 1827. By mid-19th century, part of the avenue in Midtown Manhattan was home of institutions like the Colored Orphan Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, and Saint Luke’s Hospital. Later, it became place of mansions, cultural institutions, fashionable life and luxury hotels.
Central Park opened for public use in 1859. In the same year,
the Fifth Avenue Hotel opened at the intersection of Broadway, Madison Square. The
Metropolitan Museum
of Art opened 1872. The
Cathedral of Saint Patrick was dedicated in 1879.
In 1889, to mark the centennial of Washington's inauguration,
the Memorial Arch was erected in
Washington Square to frame the beginning of Fifth Avenue. The first installation
of truly ornamental electrified cast-iron posts occurred on Fifth Avenue, in
1892. Waldorf Hotel opened in
1893. Asphalt pavement was laid down in 1898.
