55 Central Park West

55 Central Park West

55 Central Park West with
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church next door
Location Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Coordinates 40°46′19″N 73°58′44″W / 40.77194°N 73.97889°W / 40.77194; -73.97889Coordinates: 40°46′19″N 73°58′44″W / 40.77194°N 73.97889°W / 40.77194; -73.97889
Built 1929 (1929)
Architect Schwartz and Gross
Architectural style Art Deco
Part of Central Park West Historic District (#82001189[1])
Added to NRHP November 9, 1982[1]

55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building was built in 1929 and designed by the firm Schwartz and Gross.[2] Both the interior and the exterior possess unique architectural features that set the structure apart from its peers. The building is considered a contributing property within the Central Park West Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The building holds significance in American popular culture because scenes from the 1984 film Ghostbusters were shot there, as it is the setting for the climax of that film.

History

Plans for the building were filed by architectural firm Schwartz and Gross at the behest of Victor Earle and John C. Calhoun, for whom they were working. Earle, and his brother Guyon, had been actively developing the Upper West Side of New York City since the 1910s.[3]

The structure, between 65th and 66th Streets, is considered to be mostly "second tier"[4] by the socialite New Yorkers who occupy most of the buildings along Central Park West, and was opened as a rental property in 1930. Its neighbor to the south is the earlier Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Upon its opening Real Estate magazine praised it as resembling "Jungfrau, that most beloved snowcapped Alpine peak."[4] Musician Rudy Vallee, whose salary was up to $20,000 per week, was one of the building's earliest residents.[4] Ginger Rogers was one of its residents during her Broadway days in the early 1930s. Legendary hat designer Lilly Dache with husband Jean Despres of Coty Perfume fame were residents following their 1931 marriage till 1935 when they moved to their architectural award winning art deco building off Park Avenue.

Other notable residents of the building have included Donna Karan,[5] Calvin Klein, Ring Lardner, Jr., and Marsha Mason.[6]

The duplex penthouse has changed hands many times. It is 5,000 square feet spanning the 19th and 20th floors, with an additional 2,000 square feet of terraces. Composer Jerry Herman owned it in the 1970s before selling it for $1 million to Klein (who later sold it before buying it again in the 1990s). David Geffen later purchased it for $6 million before selling it for $8.6 million to fellow music executive Steve Gottlieb, who outbid Mike Nichols and Diane Sawyer. Gottlieb actually lives on the 18th floor; after renovating the two floors above him, Gottlieb decided it was too big for his needs and put it on the market for $35 million in 2012.[6]

Architecture

Though Central Park West would become an area heavily influenced by the Art Deco movement, the building was the first fully Art Deco structure on the street.[3]

Interior

When the building opened in 1930 it had apartments ranging from three to nine rooms, the largest of which had four bedrooms. The apartment living rooms featured a dropped living room, developed by the Earle brothers, which set the interior apart from most others constructed around the same period. An original rental brochure shows the dropped living room nearly entirely open to the entrance gallery; traditionally the gallery was held as a different room.[3]

The six apartments on the top five floors of the building are considered the most desirable. Two apartments in particular, 19 and 20F, are the most highly sought after. Together the two units form a 4,500-square-foot (420 m2) penthouse, sporting eleven-foot ceilings, two functioning fireplaces and a 1,000-square-foot (93 m2) terrace.[4]

Exterior

The exterior of the building is also somewhat non-traditional. As the brick facade rises from the ground it changes shade from a deep purple to a yellow-white. Color was being widely used during the 1920s as a tool in architecture for overall effects. Indeed, the rental brochure touted the exterior features of the building, "new modernistic design of exterior with beautiful shaded color scheme," it stated. The New Yorker's architecture critic, George S. Chappell, praised the building's use of color, saying, "the total effect is exhilarating."[3]

Significance

The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982.[1][7] The property is also a contributing property to the New York City's Upper West Side/Central Park West local historic district. The entire area along Central Park West is considered one of New York City's finest residential neighborhoods.[7] Benjamin Schwarz, writing for the The Atlantic said of the buildings along Central Park West, "no endeavor on earth is more arduous than getting into one of these buildings." He specifically cited the "details of Donna Karan's deal for her digs at 55 Central Park West."[5]

55 Central Park West also holds significance in American popular culture because scenes from the 1984 film Ghostbusters were shot there. In the film, the building is said to have been designed by an insane architect named Ivo Shandor, who started a secret society, which performed rituals on the building's roof as early as 1920.[8] The building, however, was not built until 1929.[3] Since the movie used the building in 1984 it has been known as the "Ghostbusters Building" or "Spook Central", though it was portrayed as much taller and with a different roof in the film,[4][8] via the eight floors that were added to exterior shots of it via matte painting by Production designer/Art director John DeCuir.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ White, Norval, and Elliot Willensky. AIA Guide to New York City. New York: Crown, 2000. Print.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gray, Christopher (July 11, 1999). "Streetscapes / 55 Central Park West; The Changing Colors of an Art Deco Landmark". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gaines, Steven (November 7, 2005). One Apartment, 75 Years". New York. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Schwarz, Benjamin (May 2005). "Eminent Domains". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Finn, Robin (October 19, 2012). "Exclusive: 55 Central Park West – Coveted by Many, Lived In by Few". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Central Park West Historic District". (Java), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, New York's State and National Register of Historic Places Document Imaging Project, New York State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  8. 1 2 Aykroyd, Dan; Ramis, Harold; Reitman, Ivan (Director). Ghostbusters (Film). New York City: Columbia Pictures., June 8, 1984.
  9. ↑ Wallace, Daniel (October 27, 2015). Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History, Insight Editions. San Rafael, California. p. 31-32, 38-39, 48. ISBN 978-1608875108
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