The Apthorp is a historic condominium apartment building on the

Upper West Side 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 ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The

Italian Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

building designed by architects Clinton & Russell for

William Waldorf Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...

, was built between 1906 and 1908; it occupies the full block between

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

West End Avenue West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, and West 78th and 79th Streets. The building, which has been called "monumental and magnificent", is built around a large interior courtyard. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1969, and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978.

The building was named for Charles Ward Apthorp, who owned Apthorp Farm, which encompassed about in this part of Manhattan in the late 18th century.

Design

A three-story rusticated base and the rustication of the broader corner bays as well as string moldings serve together to articulate the otherwise block-like mass. Arch-headed windows contrast with rectangular ones to emphasize lightly certain positions, notably the enriched uppermost floor under the projecting cornice. Over-lifesize limestone sculptures representing the Four Seasons stand above the central barrel-vaulted entrance, where the elaborate wrought-iron gates in the manner of Samuel Yellin feature a pair of

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

heads. ''See also:'' According to architecture critic

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...

, writing about the Apthorp and the nearby

Belnord The Belnord is an Apartment, apartment building at Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway and 86th Street (Manhattan), 86th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is a New York City Landmark and it was added to the National Regist ...

and Astor Court,

All of the buildings share the liability of courtyard apartment houses, which is poor light in all too many of the units, but they also share the ability of all good courtyard buildings to create far more than conventional buildings could a sense of a private, secure world.

The building, which is divided into four sections designated A–D and arranged around the central cobblestoned driveway and courtyard, originally had 10 apartments per floor. During the 1930s and 1940s, these were divided into smaller units.

Sale

The building was sold in 2006 for $426 million, and a deal was made with an outside partner which provided $95 million for renovations. At the time of the sale, 100 of the 163 rental units were rent stabilized, and rumors held that the building would "go condo".Horsley, Carter B
"The Apthorp"
on ''The City Review'' website In 2008 the change occurred, and The Apthorp became a condominium.Idov, Michael
"Apoplectic at the Apthorp"
'' New York'', September 30, 2007 The asking prices, nearly $3,000 a square foot, or an average of $6.5 million per apartment, make it "one of the most expensive condominium conversion projects" ever, according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Notable people

Residents have included Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.,

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for ...

, Nicholas Pileggi,

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

, George Balanchine, Al Pacino, Stan Shaffer, Conan O'Brien,

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

, Lena Horne, and

Steve Kroft Stephen F. Kroft (born August 22, 1945) is an American retired journalist, best known as a long-time correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. Kroft's investigative reporting garnered widespread acclaim, winning him three Peabody Awards and nine Emmy a ...

."Nora Ephron's Love Affair with the Apthorp"
on ''Curbed NY'' (May 31, 2006)

References

Notes

External links

on ''New York Architecture'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Apthorp Residential buildings in Manhattan Residential condominiums in New York City Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Residential buildings completed in 1908 Renaissance Revival architecture in New York City Full-block apartment buildings in New York City Apartment buildings in New York City West End Avenue Broadway (Manhattan) 1908 establishments in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Upper West Side