Central Park West Historic District
# Central Park West Historic District

The Central Park West Historic District is located along Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982. The district encompasses a portion of the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District as designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, and contains a number of prominent New York City designated landmarks, including the Dakota, a National Historic Landmark. The buildings date from the late 19th century to the early 1940s and exhibit a variety of architectural styles. The majority of the district's buildings are of neo-Italian Renaissance style, but Art Deco is a popular theme as well.

## History

The buildings that are part of the historic district were mostly developed in the 1880s through 1930s, following the construction of Central Park. This was further spurred by the construction of the Ninth Avenue Elevated, which provided easy access to Lower $Manhattan.^{:10(PDFp.24)}$ Tenements and row houses lined Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues (formerly Tenth and Ninth Avenues, respectively), while more upscale luxury buildings were built on Central Park West (formerly Eighth $Avenue).^{:11(PDFp.25)}$ Generally, the further away a lot was from Columbus Avenue and its elevated railway, the more upscale the house was likely to $become.^{:14–15(PDFpp.28–29)}$ By the early 20th century, the row houses were destroyed to make way for apartment buildings. The construction of the New York City Subway's Eighth Avenue Line in the 1920s accelerated this process of $redevelopment.^{:18–19(PDFpp.32–33)}$

The Central Park West Historic District was federally recognized on November 9, 1982, when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It had been designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 1973. The LPC designation covered a T-shaped area, which included one block of West 76th Street, two adjacent blocks of Central Park West and a short stretch of West 77th Street, as the Central Park West–76th Street Historic District. The local designation and boundaries persisted well past the 1982 National Register listing.

In 1990 the LPC formally extended the local boundaries of the Central Park West–76th Street Historic District to include almost all of the area included in the boundaries of the federal historic district. The much larger Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District includes the area from 96th Street to 62nd Street and Central Park West to Amsterdam Avenue.

## Boundaries

The Central Park West Historic District is a linear historic district including the stretch of Central Park West from 61st to 97th Streets. When the Upper West Side–Central Park West Historic District was designated in 1990 as a local historic district its boundaries closely mirrored those of the 1982 Central Park West Historic District, except the local historic district encompasses land stretching to Amsterdam Avenue. The federal historic district is considerably smaller than the local $district.^{:PDFpp.3,5}$

## Architecture

The expanse of Central Park West between 61st and 97th Streets is a mixture of late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural styles. By far the district's most dominant style is Neo-Renaissance, mostly neo-Italian Renaissance though there are German and Flemish Renaissance influences found in some of the structures. Art Deco, Second Empire, Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical architecture are all found in multiple buildings. Gothic and Romanesque Revival influences can be found combined with other styles in some of the buildings as well as on their own. A few Queen Anne, Art Moderne and Italianate buildings dot the streetscape of Central Park West.

## Structures

Of the buildings within the boundaries of the historic district only one was considered a non-contributing property to the historic character of the district when it was nominated to the National Register: the building located at 80 Central Park West, a 1965 modern building. The area within the district is home to nearly 40 high-quality, luxury apartment highrises. Sprinkled within the residential buildings are four Christian churches, one synagogue, several smaller-scale, multi-family houses, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, the New York Historical Society and the American Museum of Natural History.

### Contributing properties

These properties are contributing properties to the Central Park West Historic District. In general this means that they add to the character of the historic district.

| Building name | Address | Architecture | Built | Architect(s) | Remarks |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mayflower Hotel | 15 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1926 | Emery Roth | Demolished in 2004 to make way for what is now 15 Central Park West. |
| The Century | 25 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1931 | Irwin S. Chanin | At 30 floors, one of three buildings tied for the title of the district's tallest. It was constructed at a cost of $6.5 million and designed by the firm owned by Irwin S. Chanin. The Century apartment building is located on the former site of the Century Theatre, which was demolished in 1930 and 1931 to make way for the apartments. The building is one of three within the boundaries of the historic district that stretch upwards 30 floors, thus tying it for the title of the district's tallest building. The building that houses the Congregation Shearith Israel, |
| Ethical Culture School | 33 Central Park West | Classical Revival | 1902 | John Mervin Carrère and Thomas Hastings | |
| Ethical Culture Meeting House | 2 West 64th Street | Art Nouveau | 1910 | Robert D. Kohn | |
| Harperly Hall | 41 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1910 | Henry W. Wilkinson | |
| The Prasada | 50 Central Park West | Second Empire | 1907 | Charles W. Romeyn and Henry R. Wynne | |
| Holy Trinity Lutheran Church | 1 West 65th Street | Gothic Revival | 1903 | |
| Ghostbusters Building | 55 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1929 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | Informally known as "Ghostbusters Building" since 1984 film was filmed there. In the film, the building (referred to as "Spook Central") was said to have been designed by mad architect Ivo Shandor, in reality, the Art Deco building was constructed in 1929 and designed by Schwartz & Gross. The 19-floor building was portrayed as taller in the film. |
| 65 Central Park West | 65 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1926 | Emery Roth | |
| 70 Central Park West | 70 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1916 | Charles A. Rich & Frederick Mathesius | |
| 75 Central Park West | 75 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Rosario Candela | |
| Second Church of Christ, Scientist | 10 West 68th Street | Classical Revival | 1898 | Frederick R. Comstock | The building itself is seen in the Mafia II game. |
| The Brentmore | 88 Central Park West | Beaux-Arts | 1909 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| 91 Central Park West | 91 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| Congregation Shearith Israel Parsonage | 99 Central Park West | Classical Revival | 1897 | Arnold William Brunner and Thomas Tryon | |
| Congregation Shearith Israel | 8 West 70th Street | Classical Revival | 1897 | Arnold William Brunner and Thomas Tryon | Also known as the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. It is the oldest American Jewish congregation is the fifth in a line of structures dating back to 1730, though only the current building was located near Central Park West. |
| 101 Central Park West | 101 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1929 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| The Majestic | 115 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1930 | Irwin S. Chanin | At 30 floors, one of three buildings tied for the title of the district's tallest. |
| The Dakota | 1 West 72nd Street | German Renaissance | 1884 | Henry J. Hardenbergh | Some sources indicate this was the first luxury apartment building in New York City. National Historic Landmark. |
| The Langham | 135 Central Park West | Second Empire | 1905 | Charles W. Clinton & William Hamilton Russell | |
| The San Remo | 145-146 Central Park West | Classical Revival | 1930 | Emery Roth | Prominent, two-towered, 27-story building. |
| The Kenilworth | 151 Central Park West | Second Empire | 1908 | Townsend, Steinle and Haskell | |
| Fourth Universalist Society of New York | 4 West 76th Street | Gothic Revival | 1898 | William A. Potter | Originally known as the Church of Divine Paternity. |
| New-York Historical Society | 170 Central Park West | Classical Revival | 1908 and 1938 | Edward York & Philip Sawyer, and Walker & Gillette | |
| American Museum of Natural History | 79th Street at Central Park West | Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival | 1877 and 1900 | Calvert Vaux & J. Wrey Mould and J.C. Cady and Co. | The building was constructed from 1874 to 1877 and designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould. |
| The Beresford | 211 Central Park West | Classical Revival | 1929 | Emery Roth | |
| The Alden | 225 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1926 | Emery Roth | |
| 227 Central Park West | 227 Central Park West | Queen Anne | 1888 | Thomas & Wilson | |
| The Bolivar | 230 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1926 | Nathan Korn | |
| 239 Central Park West | 239 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1925 | Henry M. Sugarman & Berger | |
| 241 Central Park West | 241 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1930 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| Flemish Renaissance Revival townhouses | 247, 248 and 249 Central Park West at W85 | Neo-Renaissance | 1887 | Edward Angell | Three townhouses. |
| Rossleigh Court | 251 Central Park West at W85 | Beaux-Arts | 1906 | Mulliken and Moeller | |
| Orwell House | 257 Central Park West at W86 | Beaux-Arts | 1905 | Mulliken and Moeller | Originally known as the Central Park View, and then as The Hotel Peter Stuyvesant. |
| The White House | 262 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Henry M. Sugarman & Berger | |
| 271 Central Park West | 271 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1912 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| 275 Central Park West | 275 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1930 | Emery Roth | |
| Walden School | 1 West 88th Street | Classical Revival | 1904 | Louis Korn | Demolished c. 1988; replaced by 280 Central Park West |
| The St. Urban | 285 Central Park West | Second Empire | 1904 | Robert T. Lyons | |
| 1 West 89th Street | 1 West 89th Street | Queen Anne | 1899 | Clarence True | |
| 293 Central Park West | 293 Central Park West | Italianate | 1899 | Neville & Bagge | |
| 295 Central Park West | 295 Central Park West | Art Moderne | 1940 | Emery Roth | |
| The El Dorado | 300 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1931 | Margon & Holder | At 30 floors, one of three buildings tied for the title of the district's tallest. |
| The Brookford | 315 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1911 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | |
| The Ardsley | 320 Central Park West | Art Deco | 1931 | Emery Roth | |
| 322 Central Park West | 322 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival | 1925 | George Blum and Edward Blum | |
| 325 Central Park West | 325 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1899 | George F. Pelham | |
| 327 Central Park West | 327 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Nathan Korn | |
| The Turin | 333 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1909 | Robert J. Bodker | |
| 336 Central Park West | 336 Central Park West | Art Deco and Egyptian Revival | 1929 | Simon Schwartz & Arthur Gross | Undulating terra-cotta cornices at the top of the building and the water tower suggest Egyptian influences. |
| 350 Central Park West | 350 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Jacob M. Felson | |
| Romanesque Revival townhouses | 352, 353, 354, and 355 Central Park West, and 1 West 95th Street | Romanesque Revival | 1892 | G.A. Schellenger | Five townhouses; 3 (352 and 353 Central Park West and 1 West 95th Street) were demolished c.1992 and replaced by 353 Central Park West, a 19-story building |
| 360 Central Park West | 360 Central Park West | Neo-Renaissance | 1928 | Rosario Candela | |
| First Church of Christ, Scientist | 1 West 96th Street | Beaux-Arts | 1903 | John Mervin Carrère and Thomas Hastings | |

### Non-contributing properties

| Building name | Address | Architecture | Built | Architect(s) | Remarks |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 80 Central Park West | 80 Central Park West | | 1965 | | |

## Significance

The Central Park West Historic District is significant, in regards to the National Register, for its architecture and its character as a cohesive residential area. The district is located along one of the city's finest residential streets and consists mostly of apartment buildings which are among some of the earliest in New York.

With the 1990 local boundary increase the NYLPC developed the theme that the strength of the historic district lay in its diversity. The Commission called the buildings in the district brashly "commercial" and "stylistically diverse." The Commission went on to stress the importance of the district's special skyline that challenged the whole of the New York skyline. "The stylistically diverse buildings of Central Park West create a streetscape and a skyline which is exuberant and varied as to scale, height and form", the Commission stated.

