55 Central Park West
55 Central Park West | |
Location | Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°46′20″N 73°58′45″W / 40.77223447°N 73.9791438°W |
Built | 1929 |
Architect | Schwartz & Gross |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Part of | Central Park West Historic District (ID82001189[1]) |
Added to NRHP | November 9, 1982[1] |
55 Central Park West is a 19-floor housing cooperative on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1929, it was designed by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross.[2] The building is 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 the plot of the 1984 film Ghostbusters revolves heavily around it. Although the building does not have an official name, it is often colloquially referred to as The Ghostbusters Building, The Shandor Building, The Shandor Apartments or Spook Central, the fictional names it is given in the film.
History
Plans for the building, between 65th and 66th Streets, were filed by architectural firm Schwartz & 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 is considered to be mostly "second tier"
Musician
Architecture
The building was the first fully Art Deco structure on the street.[3]
Facade
The exterior of the building is somewhat non-traditional. As the brick facade rises from the ground it changes shade from deep purple to yellow-white. Color was widely used during the 1920s as a tool in architecture for overall effects. The rental brochure stated: "new modernistic design of exterior with beautiful shaded color scheme". The New Yorker's architecture critic, George S. Chappell, praised the building's use of color, said, "the total effect is exhilarating."[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 apartments 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]
Significance
The building is a contributing property to the
The building holds significance in American popular culture as it was prominently featured in the 1984 comedy
The building also appears in the 2003 Christmas film Elf, as the home of Buddy’s human family.
References
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c d Gaines, Steven (November 7, 2005). One Apartment, 75 Years". New York. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
- ISBN 9781616892678.
- ^ a b Schwarz, Benjamin (May 2005). "Eminent Domains". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b Green, Stanley (January 29, 2014). "Marc Lasry Pays $33 Million For a Duplex Penthouse on Manhattan's Central Park West". Jewish Business News.
- ^ Abelson, Max (March 4, 2008). "Central Park West's Priciest Listing—Now You See It, Now You Don't". Observer.
- Java), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form Archived November 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, New York's State and National Register of Historic PlacesDocument Imaging Project, New York State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
- ^ Reitman, Ivan (Director). Ghostbusters (Film). New York City: Columbia Pictures., June 8, 1984.
- ISBN 978-1608875108
External links
- 55 Central Park West profile on City Realty.com