The historically correct cornerstone reads “Second Church of Christ Scientist,” but the inscription over the doors now reads “First Church of Christ, Scientist.” Confusing? The Second Church of Christ, Scientist was actually completed in 1901, two years before the First Church of Christ, Scientist 28 blocks north, on 96th Street at Central Park West. The […]
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75 Central Park West is a lesser-known work of a master of New York apartment house architecture, Rosario Candela. This building seems to have reversed the normal progression of older, luxury buildings: Apartments have been combined rather than divided; the original 55 units are now 48. Over the years, many of the windows have been
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2 West 67th Street, aka 70 Central Park West, is a studio building – most apartments have double-height windows for the benefit of artists who need abundant sunlight for their work. In fact, most of the block is lined with studio buildings – it’s an artists’ colony, of sorts. (Other notable studio buildings are the
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65 Central Park West is one of nine Central Park West landmarks* designed by famed Emery Roth. Less dramatic than Roth’s towered San Remo, Beresford, or El Dorado, this Neo-Renaissance co-op is still impressive New York architecture. The building’s location, across from Tavern on the Green and just a three-block walk from Lincoln Center, is
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55 Central Park West, among the first Art Deco apartment houses on the avenue, has become known as the “Ghostbusters Building.” In the 1984 movie, the building is attributed to insane architect Ivo Shandor. Schwartz & Gross, the real architects, must be spinning in their graves. They designed an innovative brick, stone and terra cotta
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Prasada is one of New York’s most distinctive pieces of architecture, though not everyone’s favorite. The Beaux Arts apartment building is too heavily ornamented for some, even those who appreciate the building’s landmark qualities. One critic derides the “banded limestone ‘marshmallow’ columns that I have always regarded as one of the truly tasteless architectural elements
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Ethical Culture School shares the block with Meeting House for New York Society of Ethical Culture. And, as the Society is sometimes mistaken for a religion, its meeting house is sometimes mistaken for a church, and the school as a parochial school. What separates the Society from a religion is its lack of a deity:
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The Century Apartments is among New York’s finest examples of Art Deco and residential architecture, and a nationally-recognized landmark. Yet it was only the architect’s “Plan B”! The building is one of a pair of twin-towered Art Deco landmarks (the other is ) designed and built by Irwin S. Chanin along Central Park West. Both
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First Church of Christ, Scientist is entering its third life, reincarnated as a museum. After a century of worship in its West 96th Street home, First Church of Christ, Scientist sold its landmark building to Crenshaw Christian Center East. A decade later, Crenshaw sold the building to a developer intent on converting the structure to
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Harperly Hall, among the first, if not the first NYC cooperative apartment building, is unique among Central Park West buildings for its Arts & Crafts style. Though the building has gone through many changes – including conversion to condominiums – the owners have preserved the original character. Christopher Gray’s “Streetscapes” column is an excellent accounting.
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