old new york
by
BARBARALEE DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL
The Dakota Apartments, circa 1890. When the building first opened its doors across the street from a not-yet landscaped stretch of Central Park, the area was home to squatters and farm animals.
Lap of Luxury The Dakota and The Apthorp set the standard for luxury living at a time when apartment buildings were considered anything but extravagant
T
hrough much of the 19th century, the Upper West Side remained undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. Then the first apartment buildings went up, and with them, the first inklings of a neighborhood began to coalesce. On either side of the turn of the 20th century, The Dakota and The Apthorp set the standard for sophisticated living. The Dakota, after the remote Midwestern territory of the same name, represents the start of a new concept in urban dwelling: fine apartments. Before its construction in the 1880s, well-to-do New Yorkers typically lived in private houses. At the vanguard in luxury living, The Dakota received much initial skepticism, which was
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amplified by its then-isolated Upper West Side locale. But the building’s originality quickly garnered admirers, and residents eventually included musical icons Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Flack and John Lennon. The latter’s assassination in front of the building still lingers in the minds of many. The Dakota’s near neighbor is The Apthorp, which occupies an entire square-block between 78th and 79th Streets from Broadway to West End Avenue. The opulent building is the result of William Waldorf Astor’s extraordinary vision, initiative and wealth. This magnificent structure was the world’s largest residential building at the time of its construction: the peak of the Gilded Age. Many years later, in 2007, The Apthorp
became the source of much controversy when the apartments were converted to condominiums, which, after undergoing a major restoration, each commanded a steep $6.5 million (on average). Now, after having gone through several renaissances, the Upper West Side is one of the city’s most prestigious locales. Home to fine restaurants and cultural institutions like Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet, the neighborhood as we know it all began with several luxury apartment buildings. On the following page, Barbaralee DiamonsteinSpielvogel takes us on a tour of The Dakota and The Apthorp, structures that first defined a neighborhood and set the bar for many others.