[34] The courtyard provides entry to all apartments and doubles as a light court for the interiors of each apartment. But I cant for the life of me remember the name. [28][1][38] The main courtyard also functioned as a meeting area for residents, since the rest of the building was designed with "the utmost in personal privacy" as a consideration. Perhapsshe lived in the area when the Dakota was built in 1884. [151] At the time, the building employed about 30 staff. [18][25][28] The space measures 90ft (27m) long and up to 55ft (17m) wide. L.L. [53] An entrance to the New York City Subway's 72nd Street station, served by the B and C trains,[54] is built within this areaway. The opportunity to move to America. I absolutely loved the clear sense of place in THE ADDRESS, the vivid details and found it to be a very engaging piece of historical fiction. [118] Work on the Dakota was delayed in August 1883 when the plasterers went on strike to protest the employment of non-union laborers at the site. Shes not your typical kowtowing woman of the Victorian Era. Each apartment at the Dakota had a unique layout with four to twenty rooms. [156] The areaway around the Dakota was restored in the mid-1980s, and architectural firm Glass & Glass began drawing up plans for a full restoration of the building. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The building was not given its name until mid-1882, and Clark died before the Dakota was completed in October 1884. [152] The Dakota was also added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1972[2] and was re-added to the NRHP as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. [35], The construction of Central Park in the 1860s spurred construction in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but similar development in the Upper West Side was slower to come. [133] A major reason was the lack of electricity in the area, since large apartment buildings needed electricity for their elevators, but the city did not install electric ducts along Central Park West until 1896. [40], A service driveway also runs along the western side of the main courtyard. One hundred years later we meet Bailey Camden, She has been stripped of everything, a former interior designer, drugs became her way of life. [38][76] Some tenants, most of whom were friends of Stephen Clark, did not pay rent at all. [129] Even in 1890, the row houses on the same block were bringing more income than was the Dakota. [40][57], Each elevation of the facade is divided vertically into bays. What item(s) from your own childhood do you still, even occasionally, pine for? [84], Residents customized their apartments to fit their needs and, in some cases, their occupations. [26][67][c] The initial plans had called for six[77][78] or eight apartments of about equal size on each of the seven lowest floors. If anyone has read that book and remembers the title, please reach out to me! apartment. [146] Glickman dropped its plans to redevelop the Dakota and instead sold the adjacent 46,000sqft (4,300m2) site in August. [32][33], The building is largely square in plan and built around a central "I"-shaped courtyard. [162] The restoration of the courtyard started in February 2004 and was completed seven and a half months later. The residents included lawyers, brokers, merchants, and clothiers, although they also included a cigar merchant, a coal-mine operator, and a stenographer. Formerly, there was a garden to the west of the Dakota, underneath which was a mechanical plant serving the Dakota and some adjacent row houses. [30][67][71] Between the first and second stories, the walls of the staircases are wainscoted with marble. [27] The west elevation, facing the former yard, was sparsely ornamented. The modern courtyard is a reinforced-concrete slab, which is covered by granite pavers. [99] The Dakota is also New York City's oldest surviving luxury apartment building, although it was not the first such structure to be built in the city. The Dakota's raised basement is clad with sandstone. The dormer windows are arranged in two to four levels and alternately contain either stone or copper frames. [106], Construction commenced at the end of October 1880. [97] Edward C. Clark believed that the line's presence would encourage the growth of a middle-class neighborhood on the West Side. [50], The Dakota's board of directors announced in 1974 that the roof would need to be replaced, since the slate tiles had started to fall off and the copper trim had deteriorated. It was my favorite book I was horse crazy but deeply moved by the characters insights and transformation and I mustve checked out the book dozens of times to re-read. [142] The Clarks were responsible for all repairs and maintenance and were subject to little, if any scrutiny. [94] There was a florist, a messengers' office, and a telegraph office for residents. : What do you find most rewarding about writing historical fiction? [35][36] A writer for the American Architect and Building News described the Dakota's courtyard and similar spaces in other buildings as "a safe, pleasant and sheltered place, under the eye of the Janitor, where tenants can enter, but thieves cannot". [17][43][67] On one side of the dining room was a fireplace with a Scotch brownstone mantel, giving the room the quality of an "old English baronial hall". It's also intriguingfor a few darker reasons, most notably as the backdrop to John Lennon's murder. Fall book wreath from L. Lindsays archives. [106][110] Work was slightly delayed by a labor strike in March 1882. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her [69] Parlors were generally 25 by 40ft (7.6 by 12.2m). She was infamously killed by members of the Manson family. [212] The New York Daily Graphic wrote that the building was "one of the most perfect apartment houses in the world". [15][23], Clark died in 1883 and bequeathed the apartment complex to his oldest grandson, Edward Severin Clark, who at the time was 12 years old. You may know it as the apartment building where ROSEMARYS BABY was filmed, or perhaps where John Lennon died, or maybe you just think of it as a Bavarian monstrosity on the Upper West End where may playwrights, actors, writers, musicians live. [4][5][6] The building occupies the western sidewalk of Central Park West (formerly Eighth Avenue[6][7]) between 72nd Street to the south and 73rd Street to the north. : Childhood plays a prominent role in THE ADDRESS. [45] The facade also contains Nova Scotia sandstone trim and terracotta detailing. (I want it in hardback; its a challenging find). [17][43] The original plans had called for the dining area to be accessible to the general public,[34][82] but the plans were modified before the building opened, and the dining room only served residents. [17][30], The building's main entrance is a double-height archway on 72nd Street to the south. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has publicly stated that her husband's ghost is at the Dakota building. [9][10] While most of the building contained fully-equipped apartments, with their own entrances and service elevators/stairs, part of the second floor was divided into smaller apartments and guest rooms. [35], The 72nd Street elevation contain projecting turrets, which rise the entire height of the facade. [9][10] The design has been characterized as being in various architectural styles. [55] A cast-iron fence separates the areaway from the sidewalk. Rosemary's Babyused the exterior of the Dakota building to depict The Bramford, whichwashome to someof the film's central characters. [11][12] Even though a street address was sufficient to identify these apartment buildings, this trend followed a British practice of giving names to buildings without addresses. [42] All servants entered and exited the Dakota through this driveway. ", "A Funky, Whimsical Four-Bedroom In The Dakota Seeks $17.5M", "Architecture Will Mainly Be Seen in Museums", "Streetscapes: The Manhattan Apartment House An 1880 Yorkville Survivor Destined for Demolition", "How the Great Apartment Houses Have Paid", "Published Weekly by The Real Estate Record Association", "Streetscapes: The Dakota; The Elusive Mystery of Its Name", "Behind a Scruffy Facade, Kinship to the Dakota", "Plasterers Called Out; the Strike at the Dakota Flats Because Non-union Men Are Employed", "West Side Family Hotels; Their Success Assures the Construction of Many More", "Streetscapes/The Langham, Central Park West and 73d Street; Tall and Sophisticated, and Just North of the Dakota", "About New York; Quakers in Gramercy Park Area Look to Union --73-Year-Old Elevator Still Going Strong", "Dakota Apartments to Be Sold; Buyer May Raze 1881 Building", "Dakota Tenants to Buy Building; 4.8 Million Price Is Set for 80-Year-Old Apartment House on 72d Street", "72d St. The facade is largely composed of brick with sandstone trim and terracotta detailing. Still, shes alone and unwilling to run home. Horse-drawn carriages, entering from 72nd Street, used the courtyard to turn around. [30][64] The floor surfaces consist of 9in-thick (23cm) earthen subfloors above 9-inch-thick slabs of concrete. The Dakota apartment building is one of the most architecturally significant places in New York City. Additionally, Lennonstated that he saw a UFO from one of his apartment windows. After World War II, the kitchen was closed and became a studio apartment for Giora Novak. The repairs ultimately cost $5 million, amounting to an average assessment of $50,000 for each tenant. [17][70][35] The servants' quarters had been converted into apartments by the 1950s. But shes not impressed with the design ideas which would trump the original design aesthetics of the historic building. There is also a security guard's booth to the west of the main entrance. Some Dakota building stories indicate that this New York City landmark is haunted as well as cursed. If there is a Dakota building curse, it may have become most prominent with Lennon's death. [28], The Dakota was designed as a fireproof structure. [4][7][8] The Dakota occupies a nearly square land lot with an area of 40,866sqft (3,796.6m2). [76], In January 1961, the Glickman Corporation paid $4.6 million for the Dakota and an adjoining lot that contained the building's boiler room. Thats where Theo came in hes in charge of the interiors for the building and I could make him do my bidding without any constraints. [28][29] The band course is decorated with a diaper pattern. (LogOut/ She's not the only one to have had a paranormal encounter with Lennon, either. [17][34] The Real Estate Record and Guide wrote in 1884: "The owners have been fortunate in their architect, and Mr. Hardenbergh has been fortunate in his clients. Elizabeth Cochran Seaman) and Henry Hardenberg from Wikipedia, as is octagon images of Roosevelt/Blackwells Island and Strawberry Fields memorial. [1][59][67] All of the elevators were originally hydraulic cabs with water tanks at the bottom. Some residents wanted the glass breezeway in the courtyard to be removed, citing aesthetic concerns; preservationists said the general public would have not been able to see the breezeway anyway, since security had been tightened after Lennon's murder. WebThe Dakota in New York is Americas first luxury apartment building, designed by the architect Theodore Camden. (LogOut/ Strawberry Fields, just across the street from the Dakota, is an important location in the book as well. Numerous fans of The Beatles have gone to the Dakota to pay their respects to Lennon, some of whom walked away with ghost stories to tell. Despite her caution after her mothers experience of being in love with a married man, Sara finds herself falling in love with Theodore Camden, the architect who hired her to manage the building. [173][193] In 2002, the board rejected corrugated cardboard magnate Dennis Mehiel;[206] he was only allowed to move into the building 20 years later. According to Wilbur Ross, a former president of the Dakota's board, a planned "centennial art book" about the building was canceled in 1984 because the Dakota was so poorly documented. [11], The Dakota's developer Edward Cabot Clark, who headed the Singer Manufacturing Company, selected the building's site based on several characteristics. They were the first of many toclaimthat the ghost ofa girl with blonde hair hung out in the hallways. [34] At a speech in December 1879, Clark told the West Side Association: "There are but few persons who are princely enough to wish to occupy an entire palacebut I believe there are many who would like to occupy a portion of a great building. [125], By 1992, the Dakota's facade was again being cleaned. For example, composer KrzysztofKomedafell into a coma in an eerie coincidence that mirrored the book. [23] Hardenbergh filed plans for an eight-story "Family Hotel" at the site in September 1880, at which point it was planned to cost one million dollars. [155][228] The Chicago Tribune wrote that the "building's grim presence was introduced to most Americans" in that film. ", "The Dakota. [79] Apartments on the east side of the building (facing Central Park) generally had a reception area, a drawing room, a library, a kitchen, a pantry, a bath, four bedrooms, one full bathroom, and butlers' and maids' quarters. In 1886, house numbers on the Upper West Side were renumbered based on distance from Central Park West (Eighth Avenue), so the Dakota became 1 West 72nd Street. As I dug deeper into its history, I knew it was the perfect choice for a dual-narrative historical fiction novel. [155][229], The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Dakota as a New York City landmark in February 1969. Before Lennon was shot to death outside of the Dakota, hereported seeing a ghost in the halls. [83] Many of the original apartments have been subdivided over the years, though the Dakota's co-op board has endorsed numerous apartment renovations in which the original layouts were restored. Aside from Lennon, countless well-known individuals such as Lauren Bacall, Boris Karloff, and Joe Namath have lived there. "[117][213] Two years later, H. W. Fabian referred to the Dakota as the "most excellent of any of the kind in New York",[53][214] and M. G. Van Renneslaer said the Dakota was the only apartment building she had ever seen that "merits praise". One hundred years later, in 1985 NYC, Bailey Camden is an interior designer charged with renovating The Dakota. [34][219] American Architect and Architecture wrote: "the court-yard is symmetrically and handsomely shaped". [26][105] In early October 1880, about two weeks before construction began, the Real Estate Record and Guide reported that the building was to be a "residential hotel" with between 40 and 50 suites, each with five to twenty rooms. [80], There were nearly 500 rooms in total. [202] Other rules include a restriction against leaving more than one car unattended in the driveway; a prohibition on "dance, vocal or instrumental instruction" in apartments; and a restriction on playing musical instruments or using a phonograph, radio, or TV loudspeaker between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m.[202] Residents cannot throw away their apartments' original fireplace mantels or doors and must instead put them in a storage area in the basement. Whether or not that's true, there are many fascinating things that have happened in relation to this building. [1] The building is topped by gables at each of its corners. [207][208], Although the Dakota has historically been home to many creative or artistic people, the building and its co-op board of directors were criticized in 2005 by former resident Albert Maysles, who had unsuccessfully tried to sell his unit to Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. But shes not impressed with the design ideas which would trump the original design aesthetics of the historic building. [50][52][61] Portraits of a man and woman (probably Edward C. Clark's partner Isaac Merritt Singer and Isaac's wife Isabella Boyer Singer) are placed above the doorway. : So I have to know: which characters were real and which were from your imagination? [39] There was also a long waiting list of potential tenants, and apartments rented for a relatively low $6,000 to $7,000 per year. [13] By contrast, buildings on Fifth Avenue, along the eastern side of Central Park, are mainly known by their addresses. [21] Clark developed another set of row houses at 1365 and 103151 West 73rd Street, some of which still exist. [69][220] American Architect had only one complaint: "The service-entrances to the suites are situated upon the same court-yard, so that grocers' wagons and ice-carts are almost always to be seen standing about in the space which should be reserved exclusively for more fashionable equipages, and for the promenades of the tenants of the house. The Clarks were unable to sell the plot with that restriction, and the Langham apartment building was erected on the site. [17][70][69], The passageways from the courtyard lead to ground-level spaces with wooden paneling and marble wainscoting. WebWhen a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibilityno mean feat for a servant in 1884. WebWhen a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, Sarah Smythes world is suddenly awash in possibility. [34][11][116][d] The Dakota's remoteness did directly give rise to the nickname "Clark's Folly". Henry Hardenbergh was the actual architect for the Dakota (and the Plaza Hotel and a number of other fabulous buildings), so I didnt mind having him make a cameo, but I didnt want to try to fit his life into my story. It's possible that the ghost John Lennon talked about seeing made appearances in front of several other people. [30] The elevator cabs were manufactured by Otis Elevators and were finished in mahogany. [4] The land lot has frontages of 200ft (61m) along Central Park West and 204ft (62m) along 72nd and 73rd Streets. Ive lived on the Upper West Side for twenty-five years, and had walked by the Dakota hundreds of times, staring up at those enormous windows, wondering what it was like to live there. The Dakota. (LogOut/ WebBut when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility--no mean feat for a servant in 1884. Fiona Davis:I am so glad you enjoyed it! Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. William Craig Camden. [60][78][105] Hardenbergh simultaneously designed several dozen low-rise row houses for Clark on 73rd Street. : In my former career, I was a child/adolescent psych R.N. In 1985, Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities. "[42][220] Hardenbergh, who remained involved in his designs after their completion,[221] wrote a letter objecting to American Architect's characterization of the courtyard. [69] The attic had six water tanks, each with a capacity of 5,000U.S.gal (19,000L). [73] This gave residents a feeling of privacy, since tenants were largely separated both from each other and from servants. The challenge comes when you have to narrow down the plot and characters and come up with a story that accurately represents the time periods but also keeps the reader guessing. [42] The Dakota's distinct upper and lower courtyards differed from that of Hardenbergh and Clark's earlier Van Corlear apartment house at Seventh Avenue and 55th Street, where residents and servants used the same courtyard. WebWhen a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility--no mean feat for a servant in 1884. It's also intriguing for a few darker reasons, most notably as the backdrop to John Lennon's murder. [223] Illustrations of the building appeared on several magazine covers, including the July 12, 1982, issue of The New Yorker magazine and the 1979 Christmas catalog for Brentano's bookstore. After filming wrapped, several people involved in the production company started experiencing very odd events. [143], By the 1950s, the servants' quarters on the upper stories had been converted to apartments. [28][29] The cornice is supported by large brackets and is topped by an ornate metal balustrade. The building had undergone many changes since it opened in 1884 on the edge of Central Park, back when the neighborhood was described by one newspaper as full of rocks, swamps, goats, and shanties. By the 1980s, a couple of tenants had torn down the period details from their apartments and replaced them with shag carpets and wall-to-ceiling mirrors. [75] In the original plans, each elevator served two apartments per floor. [65][66] Each apartment's dining rooms, reception rooms, and libraries were wainscoted in oak, mahogany, and other woods. The building was one of the first large developments on the Upper West Side and is the oldest remaining luxury apartment building in New York City. Oh, and Nellie Brown had to have been Nellie Bly? Director Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, became increasingly interested in the occult as a result of the movie. Fresh out of rehab, the former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless, and penniless. [13] Major developments on the West Side were erected after the Ninth Avenue elevated line opened in 1879, providing direct access to Lower Manhattan. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibilityno mean feat for a servant in 1884. [42], After the Dakota was completed, ornamental-iron contractor Hecla Iron Works published advertisements of the building in Architectural Record. The location of Clark's apartment was intended to attract tenants who were still accustomed to low-rise row houses. The writing is evocative, historically rich, and mysterious.Beginning in London, we meet Sara Smythe, a housekeeper at the Langham and follow her on a journey across the Atlantic where she lands in the outskirts of a developing NYC. The pumps could draw up to 210^6U.S.gal (7,600,000L) of water per day, and over 200mi (320km) of pipes delivered water to each apartment. [18][47][48] The decision to place the mechanical plant under a garden, rather than directly under the building, was a deliberate measure to reassure residents in case the machinery exploded. [64], The building also had common spaces shared by all residents, including a dining room and a ballroom. In particular, he proposed the following names: 1900 US Census, 1907 Passport Application, "Moon New York Walks", Moon Travel Guides, Avalon Publishing, 2017, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City, List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets, National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets, New York City Department of City Planning, "What Are Dakota and Montana Doing in New York? [16] Clark also developed 27 row houses on 72nd and 73rd Streets, adjacent to the Dakota;[8][18][19] they are no longer extant. [153], The Dakota gained attention when one of its residents, musician John Lennon, was shot dead outside the building on December 8, 1980. We'll probably never know, but contractors who worked onHolliday's old apartment reported that it'shaunted. [40] The Dakota's courtyard originally contained two fountains, which doubled as skylights for the basement. [80] The building's facade was again renovated starting in 2015. I was so taken with THE ADDRESS mainly because it combines several of my passions: architecture, interior design, and madness. [202] For example, "domestic employees, messengers and trades people" are required to use the service elevators, and healthcare and childcare providers must be accompanied by clients when they use the passenger elevators. Residents generally continued to live in the building for prolonged periods, and maintenance costs continued to increase. [155] The building was also depicted in Jack Finney's 1970 novel Time and Again. [149] The Mayfair was completed on the adjacent site in 1964; according to The New York Times, no plans were ever filed for a larger building on the Dakota's site. [18][28][29] Some contemporary sources described the building as being ten stories high, including the raised basement,[17][30] while others classify the Dakota as being eight stories high. In fact, Ive been searching for Nellie Blys TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE for years! : Fiona, its been a pleasure. [31] Servants employed by the residents, as well as visiting servants, occupied the eighth and ninth floors. The opportunity to move to America. The Dakota occupies the western side of Central Park West between 72nd and 73rd Streets. [25][30][64][b] The superstructure includes rolled steel beams on each floor, spaced every 3 to 4ft (0.91 to 1.22m) and measuring 6 to 12in (150 to 300mm) deep. Two generations ago, Baileys grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden. The plant's roof was constructed of brick arches and iron beams, and the garden was planted above it. The upper-story servants' quarters contained dormitories, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and dryer rooms. [28][1] After midnight, residents and visitors were required to ring the security guard to enter the building. 1875 - 1943. [32][114][141] For the next three decades, the Dakota remained largely unchanged,[76] and the building even retained its original elevators. When a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara Smythe, her world is suddenly awash in possibility - no mean feat for a servant

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