6 Ave, Central Park

The 6th Avenue run through the Central Park neighborhood is only about 2 blocks before it actually runs into the park. This area is a bit chaotic, and sometimes, the actual park is a bit chaotic, but it's really pretty around here, despite all of the tourists.
The northeast corner of 6th at 57th has quite the artsy history for a building that is now a rehab center. Sidenote: I find it very odd that a rehab center is stationed in the middle of all of this chaos, but I guess they can't move it now. The site used to be a club where people like Frank Sinatra played and before that it was an apartment building Dorothy Parker lived and Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx hung out. Now it's a . . . rehab center. I wonder if people coming off of drugs think they're hallucinating the Marx Brothers but they're actually seeing ghosts. Probably not, but it's nice to imagine. Across the street is a crusty, old but still really cool looking hotel called the Buckingham. I don't know what kind of people stay there now but it used to be big with artists back in its heyday. Next door to the rehab center is a Chodorow restaurant called Kobe which serves, you guessed it, Kobe beef. It's not big in the foodie world despite its pretentiousness, and definitely not worth the price. Across from the restaurant is a former hotel turned luxury condo building. The building is beautiful and very expensive. Angela Landsbury used to live here.
The intersection of 58th and 6th is the site of the famous "I'm walking here," line in Urban Cowboy. I love that scene because of Joh Voigt's face. He's trying so hard to not laugh while Dustin Hoffman stayed in character when a cab nearly runs him over in real life. Those little accidents can end up making something immortal so it's a good thing he didn't laugh and ruin the take. This block is pretty ritzy, literally. It is taken up by the Ritz Carlton and the Trump Parc. The Ritz used to be the St Moritz which was smaller but equally as shishi. Mickey Mantle has lived here. The Trump Parc used to be a hotel where the likes of Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Frida Kahlo and Lucky Luciano all lived. Now, it's a redesigned Trump condo where OJ Simpson and Latoya Jackson lived. Obviously, it had a lot more cache back when it was a hotel.
After that block, 6th is no longer 6th and we have Central Park upon us. This area is really hectic because of the amount of train stations, businesses, homes, hotels and tourists. There are also a ton of people trying to sell things to tourists around here and cabs dealing with tourists. Catching a cab in this part of town is next to impossible so I highly advise the train in this area. Also, traffic is a nightmare around here so a simple ride ends up costing a small fortune. I wouldn't want to live on this block because it's just way too crazy. And, there really isn't any kind of local feel. But, if you want to get to the park, 6th is a good way to get there.