East 51 St, Midtown

East 51st starts off at Lex with two really pretty buildings on the south side of the street and a bunch of ugly ones on the north side. The south side holds St. Barthelomew's Church and the RCA building. St. Barts was built in the early 20th century though it looks much older. And, the RCA building which is now also a landmark was built to complement the Church's aesthetic. Apparently, the designers of the other side of the block were more interested in complementing the midtown, faceless building aesthetic which they did quite well. It's a pretty boring block but architecturally one side of the street is lovely.
The block after Park is an interesting mix of big bank buildings and the Villard Houses. The Villard used to be a series of brownstones with a lovely courtyard that now serves as the entrance to a big hotel. This is the back side of the complex so you get quite the visual that 50th gets, but they're very pretty and very out of place in this neighborhood nowadays. There are also a couple of cute Asian restaurants on this block though neither are anything to write home about. I'm sure the people who work around here are glad they're there, though, since good restaurants are hard to come by in this stretch. There's also a Just Salad on this block which is great for takeaway lunch. I'm mildly obsessed with this chain along with Chop't because they're the perfect massive size of any kind of salad you can dream of.
Across Madison, there's a really pretty brick building called the Look Building which has been heralded in many architectural write ups. It's unusual to have this sort of building in this part of town but that's one of the great things about New York. The diversity of just about any sort of thing abounds in this city. There are a couple of little takeaway spots on this street as well as a Deli but a big hunk of the block is taken up by St. Patrick's Cathedral -- one of the more famous religious haunts in the city. A lot famous people have had funerals here and the building is just stunning. Across from St. Pat's is the Olympic Tower which used to be the most elite apartment building in the city. It has been trumped long ago by many other luxury buildings but people Jackie Onassis once called this place home and it's still really nice though in a bizarre location.
51st in Midtown is strange because it incorporates elements of Uptown and the midtown that you think of when you imagine Midtown. There are a few things to do and see but not a whole lot and it's still really crowded with suits and tourists so it would be a hard place for me to live. The demographic tends to be a bit older and professional and I don't envy anyone for living here. It's just to loud and has no neighborhood feel.