Can you tell us a little about how that piece of the story came to be? [106], Construction commenced at the end of October 1880. : In my former career, I was a child/adolescent psych R.N. [143], By the 1950s, the servants' quarters on the upper stories had been converted to apartments. [76], Each of the Dakota's apartments had a unique layout and contained four to twenty rooms. [80], There were nearly 500 rooms in total. Instead, her "cousin" Melinda - Camdens biological great-granddaughter - will inherit almost everything. There are 11 bays on 72nd Street to the south and Central Park West to the east; 13 bays on 73rd Street to the north; and 17 bays to the west. [52] Above the second story is a horizontal band course made of terracotta. While living in the Dakota Apartments, Lennon also gave an interview that included him reading a letter that predicted his untimely death. [46], The building is surrounded by a recessed areaway, also described as a dry moat. [28][40] This breezeway had been installed during the 1920s to protect residents from inclement weather. [17][70][69], The passageways from the courtyard lead to ground-level spaces with wooden paneling and marble wainscoting. [48] The steam plant in the basement, as well as the building's eight hydraulic elevators, were powered by water that was collected from the roof and from underneath each apartment's radiators. [18][23][24] The construction process involved several contractors including stonemason John L. Banta, plumber T. Brieu, iron supplier Post & McCord, carpenter J. L. Hamilton, stonework supplier J. Gillis Se Son and Henry Wilson, and woodwork contractor Pottier & Stymus. I was mesmerized and couldnt wait to get my hands on THE ADDRESS. The Real Estate Record and Guide dubbed the dining suite as "the handsomest dining room in Manhattan". [28], The Dakota was designed as a fireproof structure. Fiona Davis:Back when I was around eight years old, I took a book out of my local library about a girl whos horse crazy, and finally gets to ride a horse for an entire summer before realizing that taking care of it is a lot of hard work. [49] There were also tennis and croquet courts within the garden. [82] Many floor plans for individual apartments have been published over the years, and the Dakota's modern floor plans have been reconstructed based on these documents. [32][114][141] For the next three decades, the Dakota remained largely unchanged,[76] and the building even retained its original elevators. [129], According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the Dakota, along with the American Museum of Natural History several blocks north, helped establish the "early character" of Central Park West. ; a Description of One of the Most Perfect Apartment Houses in the World", "The Dakota Finds Repairs To a Landmark Are Costly", "New Buildings of Prominence New York City", "Bus Seekers Talk of Horse-car Days; Meet in Oldest Central Park West Apartments to Fight 'Old-Fashioned Trolley. The opportunity to be the female manager of the Dakota. The Dakota had its own power plant, so the lack of municipal electric service did not affect the 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. [46] John Banta was hired as the apartment house's general contractor. Homeless and without any prospects she must lean on her cousin Melinda. After reading TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE, I took the tram over to whats now called Roosevelt Island to visit the remaining structure, the Octagon, which today serves as the lobby to a condo. 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. [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. [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. I realized that setting a book there would give me the perfect excuse to get inside (and was eventually able to do that, through roundabout connections to a couple of very generous tenants). [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". The plant's roof was constructed of brick arches and iron beams, and the garden was planted above it. It's also intriguing for a few darker reasons, most notably as the backdrop to John Lennon's murder. Fiona Davis:Not a thing I loved these questions thank you so much! Two generations ago, Bailey?s grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden. [215] Schuyler, reappraising the building in 1896, said: "The architectural results were so successful that it is a very considerable distinction to have designed the best apartment house in New York. She was infamously killed by members of the Manson family. [124] All of the Dakota's residents were wealthy, although not particularly famous. [153], The Dakota gained attention when one of its residents, musician John Lennon, was shot dead outside the building on December 8, 1980. It's also intriguingfor a few darker reasons, most notably as the backdrop to John Lennon's murder. [28][1] A depiction of a Native American's head is carved on the facade. 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. He was born in Paris in 1876, and studied architecture under Stanford White, and later became a member of the firm of McKim, Mead and White. [156][157] The Dakota's board had rejected numerous high-profile personalities who had wanted to move into the building. [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. : Fiona, its been a pleasure. Rehab has brought her back but now she must rely on others to help her through. [156] The Dakota has also appeared in several popular media works, including Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. [27], The Dakota is a nine-story building; most of the building is seven stories high, although there are also two-story gables. [53] The first floor contained the building's main dining room, as well as a smaller private dining room and a reception room. [1][59][67] The strength of the Dakota's superstructure rivaled that of contemporary office buildings. ], Author| Interviewer |Book Reviewer| Photographer. 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 possibilityno mean feat for a servant in 1884. Another reward is hearing from readers. [31] Servants employed by the residents, as well as visiting servants, occupied the eighth and ninth floors. Shes a graduate of the College of William & Mary and the Columbia UniversityGraduate School of Journalism and is based in New York City. [35], The 72nd Street elevation contain projecting turrets, which rise the entire height of the facade. [16][17] Additionally, 72nd Street is 100ft (30m) wide, making it one of several major crosstown streets in the Manhattan street grid. The dormer windows are arranged in two to four levels and alternately contain either stone or copper frames. [44][45], To the west of the Dakota was another garden, below which was the building's mechanical plant. Henry Hardenbergh? - An architect, died in New York City, March 1, 1924. [134], The Clarks tried to sell off an adjacent plot to the north, between 73rd and 74th Streets, in 1902 with the proviso that no building on that site be taller than the Dakota. The Dakota is at 1 West 72nd Street in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. 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 possibilityno mean feat for a servant in 1884. I know, ridiculous, right? John Pascal Camden. [13] Major developments on the West Side were erected after the Ninth Avenue elevated line opened in 1879, providing direct access to Lower Manhattan. Shes not your typical kowtowing woman of the Victorian Era. You can find her atwww.FionaDavis.net. WebThe Amphitheatre and Harbor Park were a gift by Mary Louise Curtis Bok in 1931. The opportunity to move to America and become the female manager of The Dakota, which promises to be the greatest apartment house in the world. THE ADDRESS is constructed in dual-time periods, 1884 and 1985 respectively, which draws a natural suspense. [69] The attic had six water tanks, each with a capacity of 5,000U.S.gal (19,000L). At the time, many tenants were diplomats, theatrical figures, or publishers. If anyone has read that book and remembers the title, please reach out to me! [17][43] Residents could also order food from the basement kitchen to be delivered to their rooms. [82] The Dakota also had a ladies' reception room with an artwork by the Misses Greatorex. The Dakota has historically been home to many artists, actors, and musicians, including John Lennon, who was murdered outside the building in 1980. After all, everyone knows it as the place where Lennon died. For instance, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono paid a monthly fee of $12,566 for her 6,000sqft (560m2) apartment in 1996, while a similarly-sized apartment at the nearby San Remo had a monthly maintenance cost of $6,000. [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. 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. [226][227] Nonetheless, relatively little scholarly material about the Dakota has been published. The kitchens had marble wainscoting and Minton tile, while the bathrooms contained porcelain bathtubs. [86] Artist Giora Novak occupied a minimalist space within the building's former dining room, which he decorated with his own artwork,[86][87] while interior designer Ward Bennett repurposed a servant's living area under the roof as a studio. WebView Theodore Camden (1918)'s memorial on Fold3. [155] Years after Lennon's death, the Dakota's residents tended to eschew publicity. [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". [155][228] The Chicago Tribune wrote that the "building's grim presence was introduced to most Americans" in that film. [11], The Dakota's developer Edward Cabot Clark, who headed the Singer Manufacturing Company, selected the building's site based on several characteristics. The main entrance is a double-height archway on 72nd Street, which leads to the courtyard. [68], The basement had a coal bunker with a capacity of 1,000 short tons (910t). [147][148] That November, the Dakota's tenants bought the building, which became a cooperative. The apartments were divided into quadrants, each of which had a stair and an elevator for tenants, as well as another stair and another elevator for servants. [Author and cover image courtesy of Dutton and used with permission. The opportunity to be the female manager of the Dakota. [3][230] The Dakota is also part of the Central Park West Historic District, which was designated as an NRHP district in 1982,[231] as well as the Upper West Side Historic District, which became a New York City historic district in 1990.[232]. Fresh out of rehab, the former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless and penniless. Fresh out of rehab, the former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless and penniless. Joey Harrow, a fellow musician, told people that he saw Lennon standing surrounded by light in the building's archway. [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. [157][177] In 2011, The Wall Street Journal characterized the board as having "high standards and aversion to notoriety". [14] The Dakota's board announced in 2002 that it planned to restore the interior courtyard, and it hired Higgins & Quasebarth as a consulting architect. [35] In some cases, an elevator served only one apartment on a floor, so the elevator doors opened directly into that tenant's foyer. The residents included lawyers, brokers, merchants, and clothiers, although they also included a cigar merchant, a coal-mine operator, and a stenographer. Each apartment at the Dakota had a unique layout with four to twenty rooms. [107][108] The building initially did not have a name, even after the foundations were completed in early 1881. There are, of course, numerous conspiracy theories around Monroe's death. [60][78][105] Hardenbergh simultaneously designed several dozen low-rise row houses for Clark on 73rd Street. 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. [100] Only a few large apartment houses in the city predated the Dakota, including the Manhattan Apartments (built in 1880) and Windermere Apartments (built in 1883). [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. The opportunity to move to America. [26], The building was renamed the "Dakota" by June 1882. [35][73] Each elevator served a small foyer on each floor that provided access to the two apartments. Between these rolled beams were brick or terracotta arches. [158] By the late 1980s, people in the financial industry comprised an increasing proportion of the Dakota's residents; previously, many residents had worked in the arts. 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 [173], On numerous occasions, the board has refused to allow high-profile personalities to move into the building, including musicians Gene Simmons,[203] Billy Joel,[204] and Carly Simon,[205] as well as performers Madonna and Cher, baseball player Alex Rodriguez, and comedian Judd Apatow. [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. Creepy Ghost Stories from the US Civil War, Scary Facts About Huge Tourist Attractions, The Cursed Dakota Building In NYC Has A Long, Tragic, And Macabre History, reading a letter that predicted his untimely death. L.L. [222] Numerous replicas of the building have been created, including a model at Legoland Florida, as well as merchandise such as tissue boxes. [69], In addition to the Dakota's in-house staff, each tenant could employ up to five of their own servants on site. [52] Some of the apartments also had balconies, which allowed apartment layouts to be further customized, while also blending in with the building's overall design. [45] The facade also contains Nova Scotia sandstone trim and terracotta detailing. [39], A glass breezeway ran along the western portion of the courtyard. Trim and terracotta detailing Scotia sandstone trim and terracotta detailing breezeway had been converted to apartments or. ] There were also tennis and croquet courts within the garden was planted it. [ 156 ] [ 108 ] the strength of the Dakota has been published rejected numerous high-profile personalities had! Ran along the western portion of the Dakota had its own power plant, so the lack municipal... 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