Madison Ave, Murray Hill

The start of Madison's run through Murray Hill is very education oriented. There's a massive building right at 34th that used to be a department store and then became a learning based sort of conglomerate with Oxford Uni Press, a library and a travel book shop included in the building. The building, itself, is pretty stunning as it was constructed with an ornate facade to blend in with the townhouses that used to rule this part of town.
The block at 36th used to be quite fancy. FDR lived in what is now a big furniture store on the west side of the street and JP Morgan's carriage house used to be on the East side where there is now a massive luxury condo building where they shot the movie Sliver. And, the old timey / Morgan legacy carries on in the next block up at the Morgan Library. The Library is gorgeous and features such items from Morgan's personal collection as Thoroeau journals and an original Dickens Christmas Carol Manuscript. It's a really lovely museum and I highly recommend everyone go take a look. Plus, these few blocks still retain some of the old New York and that's kind of hard to find in this part of town.
There are a couple of high end hotels covering the next couple of blocks up (like a Morgans Group hotel) with a couple of their high end restaurants in them (like Asia de Cuba). But, the rest of the street is dominated by advertising. The term Mad Men was coined because of this specific stretch of Madison where all the major advertising agencies took up shop. The same is still true today and it makes the street take on a very suit and power lunch kind of vibe.
The street changes quite a bit as you head north but it definitely maintains the big avenue kind of vibe throughout. It's not really a street you'd want to live on because it's so catered to commercial affairs. And, there's not much of a neighborhood vibe because there aren't any local haunts. But, there are a few cool things to see on the street so I can't forsake it by any stretch.

I like most people had heard of Madison Avenue, but for some odd reason in the many times I visited the City I was never inclined to visit it. This was until a friend of mine decided he wanted to eat at Porcao, a restaurant somewhere on Madison Avenue. I say somewhere because we were lost going the wrong way for 2 hours. The walk was long, the food was bad and way overpriced as is most everything on Madison Avenue, but at least it gave me an opportunity to explore this beautiful street. It turns out is a lot more than super expensive and exclusive shops. Dont get me wrong there are plenty of those, but I was impressed and surprised by the great architecture found on this street. Madison Avenue also has areas where it is lined with trees and the landscape is really worth a walk on Madison Avenue, just bring good shoes.