8 Most Famous Streets In America

Many famous streets in America represent its past and hold a significant role in its relevant state. With a different event, or a string of, that brought these streets their notorious fame, here are the top eight most recognized in the nation. 

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Notoriously famous for its restaurants, bars, and strip clubs, Bourbon Street stretches for 13 blocks through the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, with the building facades showcasing Spanish and French background of the state. As a fairly quiet street throughout the day, it becomes a hotspot of activity as the sun goes down and well into the early morning. Its most populated portion consists of an 8-block section filled with attractions, known as the "Upper Bourbon Street." The most popular out of the many festivals in New Orleans throughout the year, the Mardi Gras, causes massive block-ups along the Bourbon Street celebrations, with the roadway becoming nearly impassable. It is only here that the open container laws allow for alcohol consumption in a public space of the French Quarter.

Broadway, New York City, New York

This street is recognized worldwide by its single-word name, which, few people know, is meaningful in more ways than being symbolic of the location where many actors' careers begin. Not a single street, Broadway is comprised of an avenue, a street, and boulevard sections. Such boulevard traversing Manhattan is the best-known portion of Broadway that comes with all the central hubs of the American theater industry and is the oldest north-south road in the entire city. Inclusive on this Broadway boulevard in Manhattan are the 40 professional theaters, innate to the Tony Awards. Only the shows in one of these theatres are qualified to be nominated for the award. 

Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York

The iconic Fifth Avenue of New York is the world-shoppers paradise of flagship stores, including Tiffany & Co. and Saks, along with being one of the most expensive shopping streets around the globe. In 2017, the prime rental value on the street composed $3,000 per square foot, as reported by the Cushman & Wakefield real estate services agency. Traversing Manhattan, Fifth Avenue stretches from the downtown Greenwich Village neighborhood and uptown into Harlem. Other luxury-branded stores along the Fifth include Prada, Gucci, Versace, and Louis Vuitton.

The elaborate and expensive window displays have to be seen, along with the street's best attractions. The Rockefeller Center with Top of the Rock viewing deck on its 70th floor offers a 360-degree-view of the city. The famed street is also bordered by the notorious Central Park, with its east side running along the Fifth from 59th Street to 110th Street and the Central Park Zoo sitting at East 64th and Fifth Avenue. Families love seeing the polar bears, snow monkeys, some exotic species, and birds. 

Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California

The Boulevard is best known for its Hollywood Walk of Fame, an over-a-mile of sidewalks with more than 2,500 stars engraved with names and handprints of the famed directors, musicians, fictional characters, producers, and other Hollywood celebrities. Ten million people come to see this particular part of Hollywood Boulevard annually. Another notable place along the Boulevard is The Chinese Theater; if one doesn't attend the movie premiers hosted there, they must at least come to see the footprints, handprints, and signatures of the famous people imprinted into the entrance's concrete. The Madame Tussauds wax museum, as well as the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium is also part of the Boulevard, while the notorious Hollywood Sign is in the optimal viewing perspective from many points along it. 

Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada

Shining with its bright, colorful lights and opulent casino buildings, the Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as the Strip, is instantly recognizable even from a far-away aerial perspective. Its first casino resort was the El Rancho Vegas that opened in 1941 to mimic in style those already running on the nearby Fremont Street during the construction of the Hoover Dam. With more hotels and casinos quickly following suit, it was still five years before the Boulevard took off as a big big-name entertainment center area, with the mobster Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo resort making it one. Following his steps, other mobsters continued to build up the boulevard with more lavish spots and bringing in even more "top-billed talent."

Ocean Drive, Miami, Florida

The historic beachfront gem known as Ocean Drive in Miami's South Beach is a mere 1.3-mile street that spans 17 blocks, jam-packed with some 900 well-preserved period buildings. Inaugurated in 1915, it is known as the heart of Miami's Art Deco District with a colorful concoction of styled buildings and hotels with neon signs in retro style. The Colony Hotel of 1939 was built as a boutique hotel and featured in various TV series and movies, including Showtime's "Dexter." The Sunray Apartments was featured in the "Scarface" movie of 1983.

Home to the late, world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, his mansion is now a hotel on the street. Queuing for patio-seating on this street's restaurants, bars, and lounges, is not driven by wanting to eat a fine meal or grab a quick drink, but by a desire to be seen, with expensive cars parading along the drive. The famous Clevelander, an Art Deco hotel built in 1938, comprises a hotspot for a top-notch drinking experience being seen on the rooftop terrace while watching others and enjoying the view of the Ocean Drive and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Magnificent Mile, Chicago, Illinois

The 13-block section of North Michigan Avenue that stretches from the river to Oak Street is known as the Magnificent Mile, lined with skyscrapers, 275 restaurants, 60 hotels, various entertainment venues, and iconic attractions. 

With the city's developers having summoned a "Chicago Plan," it included a proposal to transform Michigan Avenue from a trading post to a Champs-Élysées in Paris-inspired boulevard. Traffic started traversing the Michigan Avenue Bridge upon its opening in 1920 to go from the old Chicago to the rebuilt Chicago and back across the river. This also prompted the construction of the aforementioned skyscrapers on the Mile, along with commerce that continued to expand in size, totaling over 450 stores, including high-end boutiques, today. The Mile was erected with its present-day name in 1947.

Wall Street, New York, New York

Representing American capitalism and big business, and a synonym for the financial market of the United States, the notorious Wall Street, runs for 0.7 miles through the heart of New York City's financial district from Broadway to South Street. Home to the American Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Stock Market, the New York Mercantile Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange, the largest of its kind globally, the representation of wealth, power, corruption, and greed are not mock. Blamed by those affected by the financial collapse and the Great Recession, many leaders curse Wall Street for being a major cause of the unraveling events.

While some think that the street was aptly named for the "wall" of the tall buildings encompassing it, an actual wall did exist in the past. The first Dutch settlers in Manhattan were worried that the British or the Native Americans would invade their grounds, which prompted the governor to install a wooden wall around the settlement. The said wall ran along the present-day Wall Street, wherein the later years' traders would gather below a sycamore tree at a bazaar location along the street, soon creating the New York Stock Exchange in 1792.

It appears to be the famously beating heart of the country, the New York City, that encompasses many of the world-renown streets. Nevertheless, other famous streets on this list have found a way to show everything unique, historical, and culturally-significant about their state in a mere, few-mile stretch.