Lexington Avenue recalls the Battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War.
Lexington Avenue began in 1832, when the lawyer and developer Samuel Ruggles petitioned the state legislature for a new avenue; its northern section opened in 1836 and was named after the Battle of Lexington. Ruggles named the southern stretch, Irving Place, after his friend Washington Irving. 59th Street forms the border between Midtown and Upper Manhattan; the station lies between 59th and 60th Streets.