West 39 St, Clinton / Hells Kitchen

39th at 12th used to be one of the only blocks in Manhattan that slaughterhouses were allowed around the turn of the 19th century so this is where they all were until the Meatpacking District took over that arena. There aren't any meat shops on the street any longer but a lot of the buildings around 12th on 39th used to be slaughterhouses that were converted in commercial and residential units. Creepy right? I feel like if I lived in one of them, I would always be thinking about the Silence of the Lambs.
The block around 10th doesn't have anything but the Lincoln Tunnel and the north end of the Javits Center so there's nothing really to note around here save traffic. But, the block between 9th and 10th is home to the famous Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. This place gets a lot of hype and it is definitely massive. I think I've always gone on off days because I've never found anything here but people swear by it. The entire block is closed off every Sunday and it becomes a massive market. Despite my never finding anything, I do enjoy coming here for the people watching so it's definitely worth taking a peek. It's kind of weird here when it's not crowded, though, because the area looks like a wasteland. It's definitely not a block I would want to live on.
At 9th, there's a fantastic bakery called Cupcake that I highly recommend. It's just as good as Magnolia and Billy's but never has the insane line. This is one of my go-to spots for cupcakes. There's a digital studio next door that does post production sound for films and a parole office a few buildings down. Weird block, right? There's also a church and a couple of apartment buildings so if you really want a New York experience of weirdos, this may be your block. I, personally, wouldn't live here because I like neighborhoods with an energy and it's way too close to Times Square for me. But, it's one of the least offensive streets in the neighborhood and you can visit the flea market every weekend if you wanted. Of course, you'd have to go to another neighborhood to get some decent food after . . .