During the 70's and 80's city planners worried that midtown Fifth Avenue would be taken over by banks and airline offices, and there would no reason for pedestrians to promenade down it evenings and weekends anymore.

But Fifth has held its own, and many new high-end retailers have secured storefronts along it in the past several years from Rockefeller Center up to Central Park.

Viewpoint: East side of 5th Avenue, looking south towards 51st Street, 12/12/01 9:31 PM.