Sex and the City

9. Upper East Side

New York, NY

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Charlotte and her husband Harry are lucky enough to live on the Upper East Side, perhaps the richest neighborhood in New York. Before the Europeans arrived, the area now known as the Upper East Side, along the East River, was used for fishing by Native Americans. Even after immigrants arrived, the population remained mainly in Lower Manhattan, leaving this area as rural farmland and market gardens. In 1837, the area around the New York and Harlem Railroad 86th Street station were built up with businesses, creating an area known as German Yorkville, a middle-class neighborhood of German citizens. As the city became more commercialized, most of the farms were subdivided. Eventually, more and more immigrants and other Americans came here and, after a brief lull in the 1870s, the economy grew. In the 1880s, elevated railroads on Second and Third Avenues made the area a coveted place to live. The rich folks built lavish townhouses and mansions along Fifth Avenue, facing Central Park. The middle class lived here too - the subways enabled them to commute to work downtown. Even the poorer working class lived here, closer to the elevated trains. Before the 1890s, Fifth Avenue above 59th street was not considered prestigious. But by the mid 1890s, the rich moved up north, all the way to 96th street, which is considered the northern border of the Upper East Side. The middle class homes were eventually knocked down to make way for upscale residences. In the early 1900s, the wide Park Avenue boulevard became a sought-after location to live, and some of the finest schools, churches, synagogues, and museums were built. Not to mention, of course, as any Sex and the City girl knows, home to shops and fashion. Today the Upper East Side is known for all of the above, plus fabulous (and expensive) restaurants and bars. One of them, Bemelman's Bar at the exclusive Carlyle Hotel, is where Carrie meets with her assistant, Louise, when they're both depressed over men. The art deco bar features murals by Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of the Madeline children's book series. Another restaurant featured in the film is Lumi, outside of which Charlotte gets so worked up in her anger at Big that she goes into labor. The interior of Lumi was actually used often in the filming of the Sex and the City TV show, and was even designed by its production designer, Jeremy Conway. Then there's hair - when Carrie's goes as dark as her mood, it's at the Riccardo Maggiore Salon. Even the hospitals here are fabulous - Lenox Hill, where Charlotte gives birth, is coincidentally where Sarah Jessica Parker gave birth to her own son, James Wilkie Broderick.