Chelsea
West Side neighborhood Chelsea is north of Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District. It and Hell's Kitchen are sometimes referred to as Manhattan West. Chelsea's boundaries are 14th St, 34th St, Sixth Ave, and the Hudson River.
Chelsea is enjoying an architecture boom, including a nine-story, computer-designed, shaped glass building on West Street designed by Frank Gehry. Art lovers must visit the Gagosian Gallery on West 24th, the Matthew Marks Gallery, and the Sonnabend on West 22nd... in fact, with its hundreds of art galleries, Chelsea is the heart of art in New York City. The Elliot Chelsea Houses even has an in-house fine arts program.
Many Chelsea apartments stand next to ethnic restaurants, shops, art galleries, and flea markets. Above 23rd St, the neighborhood is post-industrial, featuring the newly-hip High Line that follows the river. Eighth Ave is a center for LGBT-oriented shopping and dining. From 20th to 22nd St, mid-nineteenth century brick and brownstone townhouses have been restored to single family use. The north end of the Chelsea Piers offers golf, bowling, skating, batting cages, rock climbing, and more.
Most recently, Chelsea has become a shopping destination with Barneys CO-OP, Comme Des Garcons, and Balenciaga boutiques... as well as the nearby Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Christian Louboutin. Chelsea Market, on the ground floor of the former NABISCO Building, is a foodie haven.
- The art moderne Empire Diner has been seen in several movies and sung about by Billy Joel.
- Tekserve, a vast Apple computer shop, serves nearby Silicon Alley and Chelsea's creative community.
- The entire Hudson River waterfront from 59th Street to the Battery is being transformed into a city/state park.
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Garment District
Just north of Chelsea between Fifth and Ninth Avenues from 34th to 42nd St, the Garment District has been the center for fashion design and manufacturing in the United States since the early 20th century.
One third of all clothing manufactured in the US is designed in this neighborhood. Oscar De La Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Claiborne, and Nicole Miller, are just a few of the world-class designers who enjoy Garment District living. Many of the clothing manufacturers maintain outlet stores open to the public, making it a shopping paradise. In fact, Garment District buildings often house similar kinds of businesses to make it easy for buyers to shop the market on foot.
As manufacturing declines in importance, warehouses are being converted to office space and Garment District lofts. Showrooms are becoming condos and co-ops. Businesses such as accountants, lawyers, public relations, and high-tech companies are moving in. Companies in the area include LivePerson, Amnesty USA, Simplicato and Enigmedia.
See Chelsea & the Garment District's Best of New York
- The history and culture of the Garment District have been remembered with a Fashion Walk of Fame on 7th Ave, and a sculpture of a sewing worker on the corner of 39th St and 7th Ave.
- In 1910, 70% of the nation's women's clothing was produced here.
- A statue of Ralph Kramden in his bus driver's uniform stands outside the Port Authority building.
