The Beresford is among the most celebrated creations of one of New York’s most celebrated architects, Emery Roth. The building’s 200-foot-square, 22-story mass is highly visible, its three towers permanently etched in the skyline – the view protected by Central Park to the east and the American Museum of Natural History to the south.
Beresford was built just in the nick of time – completed just weeks before the stock market crash. Nonetheless, the Great Depression eventually claimed the grand building, and it was sold at auction in 1940. (See Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History for more details.) But Beresford bounced back, becoming a cooperative (1962) and attracting the rich and famous.
The Renaissance-style structure is built around a T-shaped courtyard that opens to the west, providing light and air to interior-facing rooms. There are four entries: Two on W 81st Street, one (the main address) on Central Park West, and a service entrance on W 82nd Street.
Emery Roth’s other major works include the San Remo and Ardsley, also on Central Park West; the Normandy (Riverside Drive), Oliver Cromwell (W 72nd Street), Ritz Tower (W 57th Street) and Hotel Belleclaire (Broadway).
- Name: Beresford
- Location: 211 Central Park West
- Year Completed: 1929
- Architect: Emery Roth
- Style: Renaissance
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission: Designation Report
- Wikipedia: The Beresford
- City Realty: Carter Horsley review
- Google Map
Gallery: Hover over photos for captions; click to view images in lightbox
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Landmark Beresford is the sole three-tower apartment building on Manhattan’s Central Park West.
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Landmark Beresford is the sole three-tower apartment building on Manhattan’s Central Park West.
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Landmark Beresford is the sole three-tower apartment building on Manhattan’s Central Park West.
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Landmark Beresford is the sole three-tower apartment building on Manhattan’s Central Park West.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (northeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (northeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southwest tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (southwest tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (northeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building. (northeast tower)
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, Emery Roth’s triple-towered apartment building.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, reflected in The Lake, Central Park. The triple-towered apartment was designed by Emery Roth and built in 1929.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, reflected in The Lake, Central Park. The triple-towered apartment was designed by Emery Roth and built in 1929.
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211 Central Park West, Beresford, reflected in The Lake, Central Park. The triple-towered apartment was designed by Emery Roth and built in 1929.
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken Jan 2014-Jul 2021
1 West 81st Street, 1929, 211 Central Park West, 211 CPW, apartment building, apartments, Beresford, Central Park West, CPW, Emery Roth, high-rise, historic, landmark, Manhattan, National Register of Historic Places, New York, New York City, NY, NYC, residential, towers, triple tower, Upper West Side, Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, USA, UWS