The Century (building)

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The Century
(U.S. Registered Historic District Contributing Property)
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York Flag of United States United States
Coordinates: 40°46′12″N, 73°58′49″W
Area: Central Park West Historic District
Built/Founded: 1930-1931
Architect: Irwin S. Chanin, Jacques Delamarre
Architectural style(s): Art Deco
Added to NRHP: November 9, 1982[1]
Reference #: 82001189

The Century is a 1931 Art Deco apartment building located along Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.A. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, in 1982. It was constructed at a cost of $6.5 million dollars and designed by the firm owned by Irwin S. Chanin. The Century apartment building is located on the former site of the Century Theater, which was demolished in 1930 and 1931 to make way for the apartments. Architecturally it is cast in the Art Deco style, which causes it stand out from many of its neighbors, which are designed in the Beaux-Arts style. The building name, The Century, is derived from the common name of the theater which occupied the site before it.

Contents

[edit] History

Architect Irwin S. Chanin's office executed a US$1.25 million bond to guarantee the construction of "a twenty-nine story apartment building" at 25 Central Park West on October 25, 1930.[2] The construction was handled by another Chanin company, Chanin Construction Company. Construction would require over 3,000,000 ft (914,400 m) of electrical wiring, three times what was required for the 56-story Chanin Building.[3] The address, between 62nd and 63rd Streets was once the site of the Century Theater, which Chanin acquired in order to build on the site. The Century Theatre was once well-backed by many wealthy New Yorkers but it quickly lost money.[2][4] The theater was still being demolished in late October 1930 when Chanin's firm secured a $6.5 million loan from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for the construction of The Century. As the moves to begin The Century project were occuring, The Majestic was already under construction nearby, in the 100 block of Central Park West.[5]

Theater demolition pushed forward through early November. In the November 9, 1930 edition of the New York Times Irwin Chanin remarked regarding construction of The Majestic and The Century. He noted that, together, the two projects would employ a daily average of 3,000 men with rates of pay identical "those in vogue during the boom days of 1927 when we were erecting the Chanin Building."[6] In January 1931, with demolition at the theater site winding down, a time capsule was pulled from the cornerstone of the Century Theatre. Among its contents was a congratulatory letter from U.S. President at the time of the theater's construction, Theodore Roosevelt. [7]

October 1930 predictions had scheduled the building for completion by October 31, 1931.[8] By April 1931 construction began and by the end of May 1931 the steel structure for The Century was complete up to its 15 floor.[9][10] Within thirty days the entire steel structure was complete, rapid progress made possible by, according Irwin Chanin "coordination and overlapping of various trades employed." On June 21, 1931 it was reported that the average number of workerss since the beginning of construction was 1,050, with up to 1,400 employed at one time.[3] Original predictions, by Chanin, estimated 1,500 men would be employed, on average per day, for a period of one year during construction.[8]

[edit] Architecture

The Century, along with its one year older sister building, The Majestic, was among the first residential buildings to use what had predominantly an office building style of architecture. Both The Century and The Majestic stand 30-stories and their Art Deco motifs stand in contrast to the Beaux-Arts buildings that surround them.[11] The building was designed by the Office of Irwin S. Chanin, with Architectural Director Jacques Delamarre at the head of the design team. It was then constructed in 1930 and/or 1931, sources vary slightly.[12][13]

[edit] Significance

The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982. It is one of four "twin-towered" structures in the historic district, as such it contributes significantly to the distinctive skyline formed along Central Park West.[12] The apartment building shares a name with the Century Theatre, which was commonly known as simply, The Century.[4] At 30 floors it is tied with two other structures for the title of the tallest in the federally designated Central Park West Historic District.[12]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ NRIS Database, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  2. ^ a b "$1,250,000 Chanin Bond Executed," New York Times (1857-Current file); October 26, 1930; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. N20. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Steelwork completed," New York Times (1857-Current file); June 21, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. 142. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  4. ^ a b "$750,000 For site of Century Theatre," New York Times 1857-Current; November 16, 1930; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003) pg. RE1. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  5. ^ "West Side Block in $6,000,000 Deal," New York Times (1857-Current file); October 30, 1930; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. 48. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  6. ^ Central Park West Showing Activity," New York Times (1857-Current file); November 9, 1930; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. RE1. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  7. ^ "To Open Century Cornerstone Today," New York Times (1857-Current file); January 20, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003) pg. 46. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  8. ^ a b "$6,500,000 loan on Century site," New York Times 1857; October 24, 1930; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. 43. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  9. ^ "New apartments renting up well," New York Times 1857; April 5, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. 145. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  10. ^ "Work being pushed on West Side houses," New York Times (1857-Current file); May 24, 1931; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003), pg. RE1. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  11. ^ Lehman, Arnold. "New York Skyscrapers: The Jazz Modern Neo-American Beautilitarian Style," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 29, No. 8. (April 1971), pp. 363-370. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  12. ^ a b c 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 [1], New York State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  13. ^ Tomasson, Robert E. "Troubles for The Century on Central Park," New York Times, 8 May 1983. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
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