Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)

Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)

Eleventh Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the far West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.

Eleventh Avenue originates in the Meatpacking District at the in the West Village neighborhood, at Gansevoort Street, where Eleventh Avenue, West Street and Tenth Avenue all terminate.

Between Gansevoort Street and West 22nd Street, Eleventh Avenue is part of the West Side Highway. At West 22nd Street, Twelfth Avenue/West Side Highway begins from a split with Eleventh Avenue.

Following the split, Eleventh Avenue is two-way traffic for access to 23rd and 24th Streets (to access Chelsea Piers), and is one-way southbound from 24th to 34th Streets. Two-way traffic then resumes to 40th Street for access to the Lincoln Tunnel, north of which the street is one-way southbound again until 44th Street, where two-way traffic resumes.

The West Side Line of the New York Central Railroad once had on-street running along part of Eleventh Avenue, popularly called "Death Avenue".

The segment between approximately West 39th Street and West 59th Street is home to the largest concentration of auto dealerships in Manhattan. Mercedes-Benz is located across from the westbound Lincoln Tunnel Portal, with BMW and Lexus at the intersection with West 57th Street. Manhattan Motorcars (located at 270 Eleventh Avenue) is New York City's official Lamborghini, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Spyker Cars, Porsche, and Lotus dealership. As well, numerous vehicle service stations, car washes, and car rental lots are found along this stretch. This area has served the transport trade for more than a hundred years; most of the stables for New York's remaining horse cabs are located on its side streets, though many now store taxis and pedicabs.

The portion north of 59th Street is called West End Avenue, which in the 60s has mixed commercial and residential use. The northern two miles (3 km) are a sedate Upper West Side residential street ending at Straus Park, 106th Street and Broadway.

In 1934, a bill was passed for the Henry Hudson Parkway to be constructed, meant to be an alternative route to "Death Avenue".