The Apthorp is a condominium building at 2211 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The 12-story structure was designed by Clinton & Russell in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and occupies the full block between Broadway, West End Avenue, and West 78th and 79th Streets. It was built between 1905 and 1908 as a residential hotel by William Waldorf Astor, who named it after the Apthorp Farm, of which the site used to be part. The Apthorp is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building occupies a nearly rectangular site and has a limestone facade, which is divided horizontally into three sections. On West End Avenue and Broadway, three-story arches at the center of the facade lead to an internal courtyard with a garden, driveway, and entrances to the apartments. The Apthorp is divided into four sections, each with its own lobby, and originally had a mechanical plant in the basement. The building originally had 104 apartments, which were largely arranged as duplexes and designed in a variety of styles; the apartments had large rooms and high ceilings. By the 1940s, the building had 165 units, although some of these apartments have since been combined.
Astor announced plans for an apartment building on the site in 1901, although the project was delayed for four years due to uncertainty over the plans. Workers began clearing the site in October 1905, and the building was completed in August 1908. The Astor family operated the building for over four decades, adding storefronts in the late 1920s. Many of the units were divided during the 1930s and 1940s. The Astor family ultimately sold the building in 1950, and the building changed ownership several times through the late 20th century. The owner 390 West End Associates sold the building in 2006 to Maurice Mann, who partnered with Africa Israel Investments to convert the building into condos. After numerous delays and disagreements, the condominium-offering plan went into effect in 2010, and a subsidiary of the Feil Organization took over the building's management. Area Property Partners took over as the condo project's sponsor in 2012.
Site The Apthorp is located at 2201–2219 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It occupies the entirety of a rectangular city block bounded by Broadway to the east, 79th Street to the north, West End Avenue to the west, and 78th Street to the south. The land lot covers and has frontage of approximately on Broadway and West End Avenue and on 78th and 79th Streets. The Belleclaire Hotel, Collegiate School, and West End Collegiate Church are to the south, while the First Baptist Church in the City of New York is directly to the north. An entrance to the New York City Subway's 79th Street station, serving the , is directly outside the northeastern corner of the building.
Before European colonization of modern-day New York City, the site was part of the hunting grounds of the Wecquaesgeek Native American tribe. After the British established the Province of New York, the area became part of the "Thousand Acre Tract", owned by several English and Dutch settlers, in 1667. Stephen De Lancey acquired the land from modern-day 78th to 89th Streets before 1729 and used it as his countryside estate. He died in 1741 and left the estate to his son Oliver De Lancey. Charles Ward Apthorp acquired the southern portion of De Lancey's estate in 1763 and developed the Apthorp Farm there. By the 19th century, Apthorp's daughter Charlotte married John C. Vanden Heuvel, and the couple occupied the site. The farm contained a two-story house with stone walls and a gable roof, which dated from 1759 and was used as a lodge, Burnham's Hotel, in the 19th century. The Vanden Heuvels only used the estate until the 1850s, and the house had deteriorated into a venue for "prizefights, cockfights, and all kinds of illegal practices" by the 1880s. The house was demolished in 1905 when the Apthorp was built, at which point it was severely deteriorated.
Architecture The Apthorp was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by the architectural firm of Clinton and Russell. It is twelve stories high. The building's design is partially based on that of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. John Downey was the general contractor for the structure. In addition, Frank Williams was the interior designer, Batterson & Eisele provided the marble, the W. H. Jackson Company installed the tiling and fireplaces, and the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company made the architectural terracotta.
Form and facade
The facade was designed as a variation of a three-story Renaissance palazzo. As such, the facade is divided horizontally into three sections: a three-story base, a seven-story shaft, and a two-story upper portion. The corners of the building, as well as the central sections of each elevation, contain vertically arranged quoins. The outermost bays are wider than the others on the facade and are flanked by the quoins. These outer bays, as well as horizontal string moldings, both articulate the otherwise rectangular mass. The facade contained 2,000 windows when the building was completed. Most of the windows on the facade are rectangular, but there are arched windows on the third, tenth, and twelfth stories. The facade retains many of its original design elements, but objects such as grilles, air-conditioner openings, and lights have been installed over the years.
On the western and eastern elevations of the facade (respectively facing West End Avenue and Broadway), there is a three-story, arched porte-cochère at the center, flanked by rusticated blocks. The entrances contain elaborate wrought-iron gates with scrolled trellises, topped by gilded deer heads and stylized variations of the name "Apthorp". There are Corinthian-style pilasters on either side of each arch, which in turn are topped by oversized sculpted representations of women at the fourth story. In addition, the keystone of each arch contains a hooded head, while the spandrels on either side contain bas-reliefs of women. The entrances are also decorated with garlands. The ground-story facade has largely been converted to storefronts.
The fourth through tenth stories are largely clad with smooth limestone, except at the corners, which contain quoins. The outermost bays contain balconettes at the fifth story. The five center bays of the western and eastern elevations, and two groups of two bays on each of the northern and southern elevations, contain rusticated limestone facade. In the center five bays of the western and eastern elevations, the windows are topped by either flat lintels or arched pediments, and the 10th-story windows also have keystones. The eleventh and twelfth stories are designed similarly to a loggia and contain double-height arches, which are elaborately decorated and are separated by pilasters. Above the twelfth story is a projecting cornice. There are also two rooftop pavilions with wings and loggias. The rooftop pavilions were originally used as roof gardens during the summer and enclosed lounges during the winter. Next to the pavilion was a children's playroom.
Courtyard The two arches on West End Avenue and Broadway lead to a courtyard. The courtyard provides entry to all apartments and doubles as a light court for the interiors of each apartment. It is cited as measuring about across. The courtyard is one of a few motor courts at an apartment building in New York City.
The courttard has an oval driveway, an octagonal garden, and two fountains. The facade of the courtyard is decorated similarly to the exterior facade. Furnishings such as marble benches and statues are placed within the courtyard as well. At each corner are iron-and-glass awnings, which shield the building's entrances. Passageways on the north and south sides of the courtyard descend to a staff basement. The awnings, carriage driveway, and fountain were intended to give the courtyard the appearance of a European town square or a royal mansion's courtyard. In addition, the courtyard provided tenants with a private, open-air communal space.
Features
The building is divided into four sections designated A–D and arranged around the central cobblestoned driveway and courtyard.Horsley, Carter B. "The Apthorp" on The City Review website The basement originally contained a mechanical plant that supplied heat, electricity, and ice to each apartment. The plant contained two sets of refrigerators and eight boilers. Because the plant was placed beneath the courtyard rather than beneath the building itself, this reduced vibrations in the apartments.
Six service elevators lead from the basement to all stories, while four passenger elevators run between the lobby and the top story. The building contains a steel superstructure, including floor beams made of pig iron. The partitions between each apartment are made of terracotta, which was intended to limit the spread of fire. Marble, glass, onyx, and light stone were only used for decorative purposes, and the Apthorp originally did not contain any wood decorations, except for furniture. As a further fireproofing measure, the building also contained kalamein doors and a system of standpipes. In addition, each corner of the building contained a mail chute.
Ground story and basement Each of the building's four sections has its own lobby with elevators and staircases; the doors of each lobby had marble frames, and the lobbies' walls were made of Caen stone. As originally designed, the ground level contained physicians' offices, which could be accessed directly from the street, in addition to a drugstore and bank on Broadway at the corners with 78th and 79th Streets. One of the ground-level duplex apartments was a physician's office, where the bedroom was on the upper level. At the time of the Apthorp's completion, large apartment buildings in New York City did not typically have ground-story storefronts, since the public generally considered such buildings to be entirely residential. The ground-level offices were converted to storefronts at some point between 1910 and 1939.
In 2011, a amenity area with a gym, playroom, and entertainment center was built in the basement. The space contains cork and oak floors, gilded plaster columns, and marble-covered tables.
Apartments
When the Apthorp was completed, it was marketed as the world's largest apartment building. There were originally 104 apartments in total. The first two stories contained seven duplexes, spread across two levels, as well as multiple single-story units. The 12th story contained guestrooms, with their own bathrooms, at three of the building's corners. Also on this story were additional servants' bedrooms and bathrooms; two laundry rooms with 140 or 150 tubs; and ironing and drying rooms. The laundry room had 20 boiling tubs and 20 dryers, and the ironing room had 20 irons. The building was also equipped with hundreds of appliances such as telephones, mail chutes, and ashtrays.
The typical floor contained ten apartments, each with several rooms; most units were arranged as duplexes. The typical apartment included a marble-tiled foyer, at least two bathrooms, and six to twelve additional rooms. The lower level of each apartment typically contained the foyer, kitchen, billiards room, dining room, and servants' quarters, while the upper level contained a parlor, library, bedrooms, and bathrooms. The rooms were unusually large; for example, some dining rooms measured , and some drawing rooms measured . Apartments also had master bedrooms measuring with marble fireplaces. The hallways measured wide, much wider than in comparable residences on Park Avenue, and the apartments also had windows and ceilings.