"The Diamond District is a commercial stretch between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Midtown Manhattan, encompasses only nearly one block. Until the 1920s, New York’s diamond epicenter was Maiden Lane, four blocks north of Wall Street. The new Diamond District was formed when dealers moved north from an earlier district near Canal Street and the Bowery that was created in the 1920s, and from a second district located in the Financial District, near the intersection of Fulton and Nassau streets, which started in 1931, and also from the at one time jewelry district of Maiden Lane, which had existed since the 18th century.
A notable, long-time anomaly of the district was the famous Gotham Book Mart, a bookstore, which was located at 41 West 47th Street from 1946 to 2004.
The move uptown started in the 1920s when rents in Maiden Lane began increasing drastically as finance and insurance companies moved into the Financial District. The district grew in importance when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and Belgium, forcing thousands of Orthodox Jews in the diamond business to flee Amsterdam and Antwerp and settle in New York City. Most of them remained after World War II, and remain a dominant influence in the Diamond District. By 1941, the Diamond Dealers Club—an exclusive club that acts as a de facto diamond exchange and has its own synagogue—officially made the move up to midtown as well.
The area is one of the primary centers of the global diamond industry, as well as the premier center for jewelry shopping in the city. It is one of the largest diamond and jewelry districts in the United States, along with Jewelers' Row, Philadelphia and Los Angeles's Jewelry District, and it is the second oldest surviving jewelry district in the United States after Jewelers' Row in Philadelphia. Total receipts for the value of a single day's trade on the block average $400 million. An estimated 90% of diamonds in the United States enter through New York. There were some 3,500 independent businesses (cutting, polishing and sales) in the district in 2019. According to other sources, the district was home to more than 2,600 businesses in 2020, a majority of them were on the same block, many shop owners and managers of the district were Orthodox Jews. The wholesale business made up most of the $24.6 billion in annual sales in 2019; the industry employed 33,000 people, still predominantly Jews. Most businesses are located in booths at one of the 25 "exchanges" in the district. Commission based hawkers are also a common sight and they usually solicit business for stores located on the street level.
According to The New York Times, the Diamond District has maintained a thriving, bazaarlike marketplace since the 1920s. Many deals are finalized by a simple, traditional blessing (mazel und brucha, which mean "luck and blessing" in Hebrew) and handshake. Retailers with shops line the streets outside. At 50 West 47th Street is the Gemological Institute of America which trains gem dealers. One distinguishing figure of the district is the diamond-motif street lights illuminating the corners. The NYC Diamond District also holds three prominent trade interconnected buildings: the 580 Fifth Avenue Exchange, the DDC, Diamond Dealers Club, and the International Gem Tower. It is also close to other landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the headquarters of the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, and Rockefeller Center, as well as tourist destinations such as Broadway, Times Square, and Koreatown. Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan is the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere.
Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world and ranks among the most expensive locations for real estate; Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan commands the world's highest retail rents, with average annual rents at US$3,000 per square foot ($32,000/m2) in 2017. However, due to the high price of retail spaces in Midtown, there are also many vacant storefronts in the neighborhood. Midtown is the country's largest commercial, entertainment, and media center, and also a growing financial center.
The majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are in Midtown. The area hosts commuters and residents working in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments, tourists and students. Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, is a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Sixth Avenue also has the headquarters of three of the four major U.S. television networks.
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. The city is within the southern tip of New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area – the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. New York is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world." - info from Wikipedia.
The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.
Now on Instagram.
Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.
Tags: Adventure America Cycling Tour United States Travel New York New York City NYC Manhattan Midtown Historic Old Architecture Stone Diamond District
"The Diamond District is a commercial stretch between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Midtown Manhattan, encompasses only nearly one block. Until the 1920s, New York’s diamond epicenter was Maiden Lane, four blocks north of Wall Street. The new Diamond District was formed when dealers moved north from an earlier district near Canal Street and the Bowery that was created in the 1920s, and from a second district located in the Financial District, near the intersection of Fulton and Nassau streets, which started in 1931, and also from the at one time jewelry district of Maiden Lane, which had existed since the 18th century.
A notable, long-time anomaly of the district was the famous Gotham Book Mart, a bookstore, which was located at 41 West 47th Street from 1946 to 2004.
The move uptown started in the 1920s when rents in Maiden Lane began increasing drastically as finance and insurance companies moved into the Financial District. The district grew in importance when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and Belgium, forcing thousands of Orthodox Jews in the diamond business to flee Amsterdam and Antwerp and settle in New York City. Most of them remained after World War II, and remain a dominant influence in the Diamond District. By 1941, the Diamond Dealers Club—an exclusive club that acts as a de facto diamond exchange and has its own synagogue—officially made the move up to midtown as well.
The area is one of the primary centers of the global diamond industry, as well as the premier center for jewelry shopping in the city. It is one of the largest diamond and jewelry districts in the United States, along with Jewelers' Row, Philadelphia and Los Angeles's Jewelry District, and it is the second oldest surviving jewelry district in the United States after Jewelers' Row in Philadelphia. Total receipts for the value of a single day's trade on the block average $400 million. An estimated 90% of diamonds in the United States enter through New York. There were some 3,500 independent businesses (cutting, polishing and sales) in the district in 2019. According to other sources, the district was home to more than 2,600 businesses in 2020, a majority of them were on the same block, many shop owners and managers of the district were Orthodox Jews. The wholesale business made up most of the $24.6 billion in annual sales in 2019; the industry employed 33,000 people, still predominantly Jews. Most businesses are located in booths at one of the 25 "exchanges" in the district. Commission based hawkers are also a common sight and they usually solicit business for stores located on the street level.
According to The New York Times, the Diamond District has maintained a thriving, bazaarlike marketplace since the 1920s. Many deals are finalized by a simple, traditional blessing (mazel und brucha, which mean "luck and blessing" in Hebrew) and handshake. Retailers with shops line the streets outside. At 50 West 47th Street is the Gemological Institute of America which trains gem dealers. One distinguishing figure of the district is the diamond-motif street lights illuminating the corners. The NYC Diamond District also holds three prominent trade interconnected buildings: the 580 Fifth Avenue Exchange, the DDC, Diamond Dealers Club, and the International Gem Tower. It is also close to other landmarks such as Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the headquarters of the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, and Rockefeller Center, as well as tourist destinations such as Broadway, Times Square, and Koreatown. Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan is the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere.
Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world and ranks among the most expensive locations for real estate; Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan commands the world's highest retail rents, with average annual rents at US$3,000 per square foot ($32,000/m2) in 2017. However, due to the high price of retail spaces in Midtown, there are also many vacant storefronts in the neighborhood. Midtown is the country's largest commercial, entertainment, and media center, and also a growing financial center.
The majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are in Midtown. The area hosts commuters and residents working in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments, tourists and students. Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, is a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Sixth Avenue also has the headquarters of three of the four major U.S. television networks.
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. The city is within the southern tip of New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area – the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. New York is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world." - info from Wikipedia.
The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.
Now on Instagram.
Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.
Tags: Adventure America Cycling Tour United States Travel New York New York City NYC Manhattan Midtown People Selfie Historic Old Architecture Building Buildings Diamond District