There is a gap in the street between Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue and Columbus Circle, where the Deutsche Bank Center is located.

The New York Times stated in 2004 that "Fifty-ninth Street stretches across Manhattan like a belt, with Central Park South as its fancy buckle.

Central Park South is largely bidirectional,[2] except for the short block between Grand Army Plaza and Fifth Avenue, which is one-way eastbound.

The block between Sixth Avenue and Grand Army Plaza contains a dedicated lane for westbound equestrian traffic.

The remaining two and a half blocks are bidirectional traffic; the westbound lane of 59th Street is funneled onto the Queensboro Bridge just east of the intersection with Second Avenue.

[6] The construction of Central Park in the 1860s and 1870s led to the development of upscale hotels, apartments, and other institutions on this section of 59th Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[6] During the first two decades of the 20th century, the new Plaza Hotel, the old New York Athletic Club building, and Gainsborough Studios were built on Central Park South.

This was followed by 100 Central Park South, a new New York Athletic Club building, Barbizon Plaza, Hampshire House, Essex House, Hotel St. Moritz, and 240 Central Park South between World Wars I and II.