Over its two-mile length, 57th Street passes through several distinct neighborhoods with differing mixes of commercial, retail, and residential uses. The first block of 57th Street, at its western end at Twelfth Avenue near the Hudson River waterfront, is home to the VIA 57 West building, designed in the form of a triangular pyramid by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. From there to Tenth Avenue are low-rise industrial properties, several automobile dealerships, and small-scale residential buildings. Much of the south side of the block between Eleventh and Tenth Avenues is occupied by the CBS Broadcast Center, which is the network's primary East Coast production facility. The street's name was used by CBS to title a newsmagazine program produced by the network in the late 1980s, West 57th. From Tenth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, larger residential buildings appear. Beginning at Eighth Avenue and continuing east through the core of Midtown Manhattan, the street is dominated by very large commercial and residential towers, such as at the Hearst Tower at the southwest corner of 57th Street and Eighth Avenue. This stretch of 57th Street is home to several large hotels such as Le Parker Meridien and well-known restaurants such as the Russian Tea Room, and to the offices of several magazines including The Economist. The corner of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue is home to the city-owned performance venue Carnegie Hall. The mid-block between Seventh and Sixth Avenues is a terminus of a north-south pedestrian avenue named Sixth and a Half Avenue. at 215 West 57th Street East of Sixth Avenue, the street is home to numerous high-end retail establishments including Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., and Bergdorf Goodman. The stores located at 57th Street's intersections with Fifth and Madison Avenues occupy some of the most expensivereal estate in the world. Commercial and retail buildings continue to dominate until Third Avenue, where the street rapidly returns to a preponderance of large residential buildings. As it continues from here through its final blocks leading to its terminus at Sutton Place, the street consists of a nearly unbroken stretch of increasingly upscale apartment buildings with doormen, awnings, and small commercial establishments such as drug stores, bank branches, and restaurants. 57th Street ends at a small city park overlooking the East River just east of Sutton Place.
Billionaires' Row
Beginning with the construction of One57, a apartment building between Sixth and Seventh Avenues which was completed in 2014, a large number of very tall ultra-luxury residential buildings have been constructed or proposed on the section of 57th Street roughly corresponding to the southern edge of Central Park. Due to the often record-breaking prices that have been set for the apartments in these buildings, the press has dubbed this section of 57th Street as "Billionaires' Row". These projects have generated controversy concerning the economic conditions and zoning policies that have encouraged these buildings, as well as the impact these towers will have on the surrounding neighborhoods and the shadows they will cast on Central Park.
