5. The Museum of Modern Art

Original location of the MoMA at the Heckscher Building on 5th Avenue (the tall building behind the Vanderbilt mansion). Image from Library of Congress

The Museum of Modern Art was founded in 1929 in the Heckscher Building (now known as the Crown Building), the tall building next to the Plaza Hotel on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. In 1932, the MoMA moved into a townhouse located at 11 West 53 Street. In 1939, it completed construction on its first purposefully built home, at the same location. Today, the museum occupies a new building on this site and is expanding down the block. The above photograph  shows the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion still standing, which was later replaced by the Bergdorf Goodman department store.