Fifth Avenue North of 96th Street
As historian Carter Horsley points out, while 96th Street marks the unofficial edge of the Upper East Side, its architectural character in fact continues on Fifth Avenue all the way to 110th Street, the northern border of Central Park. The Museum Mile continues through this district, which is also the location of several of the city’s most important hospitals.
The reason why the neighborhood’s character off Fifth changes so dramatically is largely due to the emergence of the Metro North railway at Park Avenue and 96th Street, which left the blocks north on Park and adjacent streets less desirable for the development of the luxurious buildings that dominate the blocks to the south.
But Fifth Avenue above 96th Street was considered far enough away from the railroad for the smoke and noise of the early trains to be a non-issue. As for the views of Central Park – they are arguably superior to the blocks that front Carnegie Hill, as the Reservoir no longer dominates the park’s design.