Whether under the regime of private or of business houses the region of Fifth Avenue at Fifty-ninth Street has been for a long time the luxury-centre of New York. On this enchanted soil is the well-known Vanderbilt home, one of the few dwellings that still resist the tide of business uptown to this point. Southward for miles "The Avenue" used to be the smartest residential street in the city. It is now the home of Rembrandts, pearls, sables, Rolls Royces beyond number, first editions, tear bottles, jades, and silken ankles. It is more dangerous to cross than the Continental Divide. It separates East from West in the city.