There’s no place like Midtown for the color and excitement of Christmas in NYC! Come see Macy’s, Times Square, Grand Central and more, in its holiday best!

Grand Central Terminal

Walking into the Main Concourse of Grand Central this time of year is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The greens and the lights make this beautiful place even more special. Its no wonder it’s one of the world’s ten most-visited tourist attractions.

The huge windows up above the East Balcony actually have walkways between the inner and outer windows, and every once in a while you’ll see someone walking up there. I would give a great deal to get up there but its closed to the public. If you’re interested, you can see a modern dance performance done up there in 1987 here.

Next door to Grand Central is the massive 93-story One Vanderbilt. Each year they’ve put up this nice, big tree in the plaza. It’s a great place to sit a bit.

Macy’s Herald Square

Dipping down to 34th Street at Broadway to check out the holiday windows at Macy’s Herald Square. This year they themed the windows after Tiptoe the Reindeer. I’m not a fan, but I bet the kids like it. And it’s so important to give them that holiday magic!

You’ve got to get here nice and early to be able to get photos like this. In a few hours the square will be mobbed with folks snapping photos and grabbing a rest and a hot beverage.

I really love the garland around the windows, here seen on W. 34th Street. It’s so warm and cherry!

Styling like Gucci at Macy’s

Well, here’s something a little more my speed. I like the contrast of her look with the guy sitting on the bench outside.

Holy smokes, these cool booties by Ingridd were $99.50 before Christmas, a few days ago. Now they’re on sale for $49.75! I like ’em displayed like this, but would never wear them. You can see them here.

Times Square

Only in Times Square can you get your photo taken with the Grinch (with backpack).

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Bryant Park

At the wonderful Bryant Park Winter Village. I even managed to find a gift today! The vendors here are the best, their crafts are very nice and the prices aren’t off the hook.

Now it really feels like winter!

Bryant Park lamp posts are my favorite in the city, and I love them all decked out for the holidays.

I love peeking at the Bryant Park Café, it always looks so well done.

New York Public Library

Patience, one of the two lions at the New York Public Library, wears a pinecone and beribboned wreath. Installed days before the Library opened in 1911, the two lions were named Patience and Fortitude by mayor Fiorello La Guardia because he thought those were the qualities New Yorkers needed to weather the Great Depression.

And, from behind!

This small, newer public plaza on the south side of the library is actually a quiet and semi-private place to sit. It’s called the Marshall Rose Plaza, after one of the library’s trustees.

I like to hang out a while at the Library and just watch people going up and down Fifth Ave.

42nd Street

All aboard! Who even knew this was a thing? According to their website, you get to take a tour of Midtown’s holiday lights as you listen to Christmas tales told by one of Santa’s Elves. End your journey at the North Pole to meet Santa Himself. Tell him your deepest Christmas wishes and get a sleigh bell as a good luck charm. Starting at $100. I just want to sit up there and take photos.

Santa’s waiting for his next customer. I gotta admit, if I were going to hire a pedicab today I would probably pick a Santa one!

My best picture of the day, kids and the Salvation Army on W. 42nd Street. If this isn’t the meaning of the season, I don’t know what is. Mom and Dad are doing a great job.

So much to see in this photo. One of the many reasons I love NYC!

It’s not in midtown, but I love this photo and wanted to sneak it in here. Grace Church (1846-1847) has been called “one of the city’s greatest treasures”. It’s a French Gothic Revival masterpiece designed by 25 year old James Renwick, Jr – his first commission! The church is made of marble quarried at Sing Sing prison.

Avenue of the Americas

Back to Midtown! I was really glad to get this shot.

This is one of those photos that make me want to run to the train station to hurry back to NYC. Each year 1345 Avenue of the Americas puts up a great Christmas tree and lights. There’s a small public plaza with a fountain shaped like a dandelion seed head that’s open to the public.

Interestingly, a base station atop the building was used on April 3, 1973, by Martin Cooper to make the world’s first handheld cellular phone call in public. Cooper, a Motorola inventor, called rival Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs to tell him about the invention. Engel was staying across the street in the Hilton New York.

And, there’s more! In the film Spider-Man 3 (2007), 1345 Avenue of the Americas is the building Gwen Stacy falls from in the crane scene. It also serves as the foyer for the fictional law firm in the film Michael Clayton (2007). It is used as the establishing shot for the corporate headquarters of Dunder Mifflin in the The Office. Pretty neat!

It’s dark now and the crowds are getting even more dense. Navigating through them at night during the holidays is a challenge for anyone…can you imagine directing traffic? There will be 6.5 million visitors to the city between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

According to the Times, traffic in Manhattan is definitely up. I can see that for myself! Here’s the stats:

• In November 2023, on Fifth Avenue, foot traffic increased 17.9 percent over 2022.
• Preliminary data from November shows that occupancy at the city’s hotels was at 84%, up 6.2 percent from 2022.
• At Macy’s in Herald Square, which bills itself as the largest department store in the country, sales to overseas tourists started to approach pre-pandemic levels in the 3rd quarter.

It’s my feeling that most of the upswing is coming from overseas tourists. Storefront rentals across the city are still down more than 15 percent from pre-Covid levels.

Good ‘ol Radio City Music Hall, at W. 50th Street and 6th Ave. The first “Christmas Spectacular” was in 1933, but the Rockettes were actually founded in 1925. Originally, a Rockette had to be between 5’2″and 5’6 ½”, but today, she is between 5’6″ and 5’10 ½” and has to be proficient in tap, modern, jazz and ballet. A Rockette can kick up to 650 times in one day! They do their own hair and makeup for performances, wearing a signature red lipstick (either MAC Red or MAC Russian Red—both are blue-based tones that pop under the bright lights!), false eyelashes and a French twist.

Back to Grand Central

Back at Grand Central, which always does a huge wreath. I can’t imagine them stringing lights all over the building, its perfect like this. Mercury, the Roman god of travel and business, and the statue of railroad tycoon, “the Commodore”, Cornelius Vanderbilt look over the busy entrance.

I used to feel that when I got back to Grand Central at the end of the day, it was like getting back to home base. This photo helps to show why; it looks inviting and warm.

Thank you for walking with me and letting me share the excitement of Midtown at Christmas. I hope you’ll subscribe and come back to see more real NYC photos.

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Sources:
Grace Church
1345 Avenue of the Americas
NYT: The Holiday Bloom in New York is Back. Sort of.
NYC holiday tourism is back up
Radio City Rockettes