The Langham (apartment building)

Last updated

The Langham
135 Central Park West (The Langham) by David Shankbone.jpg
Location Manhattan, New York City, United States
Coordinates 40°46′38″N73°58′32″W / 40.77733°N 73.97549°W / 40.77733; -73.97549
Built1905–1907
Architect Clinton and Russell
Architectural style Second Empire
Part of Central Park West Historic District (ID82001189 [1] )
Added to NRHPNovember 9, 1982 [1]

The Langham is a luxury apartment building located at 135 Central Park West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. After the site was unused for more than 15 years, the building was constructed between 1905 and 1907. Built at a cost of US $2 million, the structure included modern amenities, such as an ice maker in every apartment. The building was designed in the French Second Empire style by architects Clinton and Russell. [2] It was listed as a contributing property to the federal government designated Central Park West Historic District on November 9, 1982.

Contents

History

In 1902 the property that The Langham stands on was owned by the same family, the Clarks, who owned the prestigious Dakota. The Clark family acquired the property during a period from 1880–1884 when they acquired numerous properties, including the site of The Dakota. The building is currently owned by the Manocherian family. Located at what is now 135 Central Park West, The Langham occupies the blockfront between West 73rd and 74th Streets. The location remained vacant until the Clark family liquidated it in 1902. At first the property would not sell because they had placed an unusual restriction on it, no building built could exceed the height of The Dakota, which stands across 73rd Street. Apparently, the Clarks could not sell the site with the restriction in place as the sale deed from later in 1902 indicated only a standard "restriction on stables and billboards." [3]

The site was purchased by Abraham Boehm and Lewis Coon but remained vacant until 1904. Architects Clinton and Russell, working for Boehm and Coon, filed plans for a US$2 million building in 1904. [3]

By September 1906 the finishing touches were being applied and The Langham was fully complete and open for rental in 1907. [4] The reporting from The New York Times lavished praise upon the building when it opened, noting among its modern amenities "real ice."

In each icebox is an extra coil of pipe, through which a freezing mixture circulates, so that if a tenant wants a piece of real ice, without going to the trust for it, all he has to do is fill a small metal pan with water, place it within the coil, and in a few minutes its contents will be frozen solid. (Emphasis original). [4]

When The Langham was completed in 1907, its apartments rented for $500 per month and attracted wealthy and successful tenants early on. William Brown, president of The New York Central Railroad lived here, Irving Bloomingdale, son of the founder of Bloomingdale's, moved into The Langham from a limestone townhouse when it opened. [3] Isadore Saks moved from the Art Deco Majestic to the Langham with his son Joseph. Martin Beck, head of the Orpheum Theater chain, was another prominent early resident. He would go on to establish the Palace Theater, where Charlie Chaplin made his American stage debut. [3] Other famous inhabitants have included Mick Jagger, [5] Maureen O'Sullivan and her daughter Mia Farrow, Robert Ryan, Basil Rathbone and Carly Simon. [6] [7] The building has cinematic appearances in Love at First Bite , and in the movie Hannah and Her Sisters scenes were filmed inside the apartment of Maureen O'Sullivan and Mia Farrow.

In 2006 the building was put up for sale. A writer for the New York Sun reported that estimates of the price went as high as $600 million. [8]

Architecture

The building was designed by architects Clinton & Russell, working for Abraham Boehm and Lewis Coon, in the French Second Empire style. [9]

Landmark designations

The Langham was listed as a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District when the district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982. [9] It is also part of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission's Central Park West Historic District, [10] designated in 1990. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dakota</span> Residential building in Manhattan, New York

The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was constructed between 1880 and 1884 in the German Renaissance style and was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh for businessman Edward Cabot Clark. The building was one of the first large developments on the Upper West Side and is the oldest remaining luxury apartment building in New York City. The building is a National Historic Landmark and has been designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building is also a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper West Side</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West Side is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Hell's Kitchen to the south, Columbus Circle to the southeast, and Morningside Heights to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Janeway Hardenbergh</span> American architect (1847 - 1918)

Henry Janeway Hardenbergh FAIA was an American architect, best known for his hotels and apartment buildings, and as a "master of a new building form — the skyscraper." He worked three times with Edward Clark, the wealthy owner of the Singer Sewing Machine Company and real estate developer: The Singer company's first tower in New York City, The Dakota Apartments, and its precursor, the Van Corlear. He is best known for building apartment dwellings and luxury hotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The San Remo</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The San Remo is a cooperative apartment building at 145 and 146 Central Park West, between 74th and 75th Streets, adjacent to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1929 to 1930 and was designed by architect Emery Roth in the Renaissance Revival style. The San Remo is 27 stories tall, with twin towers rising from a 17-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Valley</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

Manhattan Valley is a neighborhood in the northern part of Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by West 110th Street to the north, Central Park West to the east, West 96th Street to the south, and Broadway to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beresford</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Beresford is a cooperative apartment building at 211 Central Park West, between 81st and 82nd Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed in 1929 and was designed by architect Emery Roth. The Beresford is 22 stories tall and is topped by octagonal towers on its northeast, southwest, and southeast corners. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Majestic (apartment building)</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Majestic is a cooperative apartment building at 115 Central Park West, between 71st and 72nd Streets, adjacent to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1930 to 1931 and was designed by the firm of Irwin S. Chanin in the Art Deco style. The Majestic is 30 stories tall, with twin towers rising from a 19-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The El Dorado</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The El Dorado is a cooperative apartment building at 300 Central Park West, between 90th and 91st Streets adjacent to Central Park, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1929 to 1931 and was designed by architect of record Margon & Holder and consulting architect Emery Roth in the Art Deco style. The El Dorado is 30 stories tall, with twin towers rising from a 19-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Park West Historic District</span> Historic district in Manhattan, New York

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.

Schwartz & Gross was a New York City architectural firm active from at least 1901 to 1963, and which designed numerous apartment buildings in the city during the first half of the 20th century. The firm, together with the firm Neville & Bagge and the firm owned by George F. Pelham, accounted for about half the apartment houses in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">55 Central Park West</span> Residential building in Manhattan, New York

55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1929, it was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross. The building is a contributing property within the Central Park West Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton and Russell</span> American architectural firm

Clinton and Russell was a well-known architectural firm founded in 1894 in New York City, United States. The firm was responsible for several New York City buildings, including some in Lower Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harperly Hall</span> Apartment building in Manhattan, New York

Harperly Hall is an apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building is located at the intersection of 64th Street and Central Park West and was built from 1910 to 1911. One of the city's few buildings designed in the Arts and Crafts style, Harperly Hall was designed by Henry W. Wilkinson. The structure was listed as a contributing property to the federally designated Central Park West Historic District in 1982 when the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Grand Madison</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

The Grand Madison, originally the Brunswick Building, is a New York City designated landmark located at 225 Fifth Avenue between East 26th and 27th Streets in Manhattan, New York City, on the north side of Madison Square Park. The building is part of the Madison Square North Historic District, and is located in the neighborhood known as NoMad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom & Wilson</span> A prolific partnership

Thom & Wilson, the New York City-based architectural office of Arthur M. Thom and James W. Wilson, was a prolific partnership that turned out numerous brownstones in somewhat generic Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">257 Central Park West</span> Co-op apartment building in Manhattan, New York

257 Central Park West is a co-op apartment building on the southwest corner of 86th Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by the firm of Mulliken and Moeller and built by Gotham Building & Construction between 1905 and 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alzira Peirce</span> American painter

Alzira Handforth Peirce Albaugh was an American artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Prasada</span> Apartment building in Manhattan, New York

The Prasada is a luxury apartment house at 50 Central Park West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1904 and 1907, it is a contributing building in the Central Park West Historic District. It cost $250,000. Originally, it contained three luxury apartments per floor: an eight-room apartment at the rear and two ten-room apartments facing Central Park in the front. Servants' bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and other rooms were located facing the court. The building surrounds an open court, with stained-glass skylights illuminating the lobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kenilworth</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Kenilworth is a luxury 12-floor co-operative apartment building in Manhattan on the Gold Coast of Central Park West, located at 151 Central Park West, at 75th Street. Named for the 12-century Kenilworth Castle, construction on the residential building was completed in 1908, and was designed in the French Second Empire-style by architects Townsend, Steinle and Haskell, with three units per floor.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ Alpern, Andrew. Apartments for the Affluent: a Historical Survey of Buildings in New York. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gray, Christopher. "Streetscapes/The Langham, Central Park West and 73d Street; Tall and Sophisticated, and Just North of the Dakota", The New York Times, September 20, 1998. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "Increasing demand for high-class apartment". The New York Times. September 2, 1906. p. 17 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Andersen, Christopher (2012). Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger. New York: Gallery Books. p. 196. ISBN   9781451661453.
  6. ↑ Malanowski, Jamie. "The Spy Map of the Dead and Famous". Spy, Sussex Publishers. August 1987. p. 41.
  7. ↑ Miller, Tom. ""The 1907 Langham Apartments -- No. 135 Central Park West"". Daytonian in Manhattan.
  8. ↑ Stoler, Michael (May 18, 2006). "Supply of Rental Apartments a Crisis for New York?". New York Sun. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
  9. 1 2 Central Park West Historic District, (Java), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, New York's State and National Registers of Historic Places Document Imaging Project , New York State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  10. ↑ Central Park West Historic District (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. April 24, 1990. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ Mangaliman, Jessie (April 27, 1990). "East Side West Side Get Landmark Nods". Newsday. p. 27. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022– via newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.