Murray Hill

The Murray Hill neighborhood, as its name suggests, was once a hilly area overlooking the majestic East River from which springs flowed north, south, east, and west.  The ground rose gradually to form a flat-topped hill that the Dutch named Inclenberg, meaning “beautiful hill”.  Before the Revolutionary War, the Irish merchants Robert and Mary Murray built their country home on an estate called Belmont. The Murray Hill Farm (Belmont) ran from today’s East 34^th Street to East 40^th Street and from Madison Avenue to Third Avenue.  The Murray Hill Neighborhood (postal district) runs from East 27^th Street to East 40^th Street and Fifth Avenue to the East River.  The Murray Hill Historic District is located along parts of East 35^th Street, East 36^th Street, East 37^th  Street, and East 38^th Street between Lexington and Park Avenue. Hidden beneath the current location of the central New York City Public Library lies the site of the Egyptian Revival walls that held the 20-gallon water Murray Hill Reservoir, the primary source of water during the 19th century, and to the east, the Midtown East Ferry landing.  Murray-Hill became the gateway to Queens/Long Island with the advent of the Midtown Tunnel in the 40s, designed by Ole Singstad.  Cultural institutional icons bound Murray Hill: to the north Grand Central Terminal’s Beaux-Arts building, one of the busiest train stations in the country to the south Yeshiva University and to the west New York Public Library’s main branch and The Morgan Library, built in 1906, at 33 East 36th designed by Charles McKim. The Italian Renaissance building is sheathed in “dry masonry,” marble blocks set without mortar in the manner of the Parthenon.  One of the smallest historic districts resides in the area called Sniffen Court, ten two-story brick stables built in 1863-1864 in the early Romanesque Revival style.  Murray Hill area is bustling with various bars and restaurants, including the re-known 2nd Avenue Deli, Sarges, and Bloom’s Delicatessen.  There are some cool spots off the radar: Dover Market and Rose Bakery, Middle Branch and Raines Law Room at the William are worth a visit. 

Exploring Manhattan’s Murray Hill by Alfred and Joyce Pommer