The route officially begins at Beekman Place which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive.

51st continues for a few feet east of the intersection but the street sign refers to it as Peter Detmold Park (a reference to the dog park at the bottom of the hill) which has a pedestrian footbridge over the FDR to an esplanade along the East River.

Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River.

[3] There is an entrance on the intersection of 51st Street and Eighth Avenue leading to the uptown platforms of the 50th Street station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which is served by the A, ​C, and ​E trains.

Another entrance on the intersection leading to the downtown platforms of the station existed until 1992, when it was closed.