Fifth Avenue

Some things are so monumental and important, they live in a world of assumption. I have written of many things located on Fifth Avenue, but never specifically on the street itself.
Fifth Avenue is the literal and visceral center of the city - to say Fifth Avenue, whether to someone in New York or not, is to connote all things luxurious - the quintessential urban thoroughfare and by many accounts, the most expensive real estate in the world.
Of course, an important part of the street's image is due to the presence of its high-end retailers, virtually all of them iconic, even legendary. These are flagship stores, many of which remain as the company's only location. Others have a small number of other national/international locations.
At Christmas, Fifth Avenue is transformed into a holiday extravaganza - people come from all corners of the earth to see the store window displays, Rockefeller Center with its tree and skating rink and just to experience being there. Everything conspires to squeeze joy and holiday spirit out of even the most hardened and least sentimental. The density of these establishments makes a Fifth Avenue stroll a continuous, jam packed adventure.

In today's photos I show the windows of Henri Bendel, Bergdorf and Tiffany's.
I obviously can not do Fifth Avenue justice here on a single blog posting - the subject could easily fill many books and it has. But no need to read if you have neither the time nor inclination, because when it comes to Fifth Avenue, a leisurely walk in any season will tell all - this street can speak for itself ...