The Century at 25 Central Park West

May 03, 2020 by Pamela Ajhar in Architecture

Can you name the four twin-towers of Central Park West? Beginning from the North, they are the Eldorado at 90th-91st Street, the San Remo at 74th-75th, the Majestic at 71st-72nd and the Century at 62nd-63rd.. These hi-rise towers, built between 1929 and 1931, transformed the skyline of the Upper West Side by more than doubling the height of all the existing buildings. They came about as a result of the Multiple Dwelling Law passed by the New York State Legislature in 1929. This law mandated an increase in yard and court area, but allowed residential buildings to rise higher than before, legalizing setbacks and towers that could span up to three times the width of the street on plots over 25,000 square feet. The last of these four buildings to be erected was the Century, constructed by the Chanin Construction Company, one of NYC’s leading builders and pioneers in the design of Art Deco buildings in America.

Irwin S. Chanin graduated from Cooper Union in 1915 with a degree in Civil Engineering and began his career as a builder and developer with his brother, Henry. Some of their early notable buildings include: the Fur Center Building (1924), the Chanin Building (1927) and the Lincoln Plaza Hotel (1928 - now Row NYC Hotel), all located in midtown Manhattan. They were also very prolific in the development of theatres. Beginning in 1925, they hired architect, Herbert Krapp, to design six Broadway locations, the 46th Street (now the Richard Rodgers Theatre), the Biltmore (now the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre), the Mansfield (now the Brooks Atkinson), the Masque (now the John Golden Theatre), the Royale (now the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre) and the Majestic Theatre. They also built several movie theaters including the Beacon Theater on Broadway and 74th Street which was restored in 2009 and is now one of New York’s leading live music venues currently under the management of Madison Square Garden.

In 1929, the Chanin Construction Company purchased the entire city block bounded by Broadway, Central Park West, West 62nd and West 63rd Street. The site included the Century Theatre (1909) on Central Park West, Daly’s Theatre on 63rd Street and an apartment house and two garages on Broadway. As part of the agreement to acquire the Century Theater, which was then owned by the Schubert Organization, the Chanins were forced to sell them their interests in the Royale, the Masque and the Majestic Theatres.

The Century Theater

The Century Theater being demolished

The original plan to build a 65-story skyscraper quickly fell apart and it was decided that a second Art Deco inspired twin-tower building would join the Chanin’s Majestic, already being constructing several blocks to the north. By this time, Irwin Chanin had become a registered architect and worked on the design of both of these buildings. Although at first glance, the exteriors are fairly similar, he considered the Century to be a finer work, with the addition of more complex ornamental crowns on the towers and improvements to the design of the façade and windows. One of the other notable differences was the Century’s heavy concentration of smaller apartments, as larger units were becoming difficult to rent due to the Depression. Over the years, the building had its fair share of famous tenants including Ethel Merman, Jack Dempsey, Robert Goulet, Joey Heatherton and Nanette Fabray.

The Century Towers

The Majestic Towers

After a long and contentious battle, the Century successfully converted to a condominium in 1989. To this day, it is one of only three condos on Central Park West south of 88th Street, the others are 15 Central Park West and Trump International at 1 CPW. Some of the apartments have spectacular views of Central Park and many retain their original pre-war details and special features like sunken drawing rooms with fireplaces, duplex suites, creak-proof walnut and select hardwood floors and luxurious bathrooms with stand-alone showers. Irwin Chanin lived in the Century until his death in 1988 at the age of 96.
The Century was designated a landmark by the Landmark Preservation Commission in 1985.

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View of Pomander Walk from 95th Street and West End Avenue

Pomander Walk - A Storybook Community

April 17, 2020 by Pamela Ajhar in Streetscapes

Pomander Walk is a delightful re-creation of a Tudor Village that cuts through 94th and 95th Street and is bounded by Broadway and West End Avenue. Views from the street of an L-shaped lot reveal the bulk of the 27 unique buildings that make up this private residential complex and highlight the mish-mosh of materials including brick, gray ashlar stone, stucco, painted wood trim, half timbering, painted shutters and flower boxes used to construct them. What is not visible from the street and may only be admired through the holes of two locked gates on either side of the walk-way, is what will surely stop you in your tracks.

Through either entrance way (the one on 94th Street has a stone arch crowned by a quaint metal sign with a crowing rooster) and up a few flights of steps, lies a secluded pedestrian only street, lined on each side by eight two-story houses; each with its own unique façade. Two old style iron lampposts stand, like book ends, on each side and every building has a lovely garden out front. It’s like a scene straight out of a storybook.

Built in 1921, it was the brainchild of Thomas Healy, a local nightclub operator. Healy’s ultimate goal was to build a 16 story hotel, so Pomander Walk was only meant to be an interim improvement to the land which would be demolished once the final hotel plans were in place. He commissioned the architectural firm of King and Campbell to design a complex that would resemble a small London street. The inspiration was to come from the set of a popular play, “Pomander Walk”, by Lewis Parker, which opened on Broadway in 1910. Healy met an early death in 1927, so Pomander Walk remained.

By the 1970’s the neighborhood had changed dramatically and the Walk itself had become less magical and more run-down. Developers were beginning to eye the land, for redevelopment. Thanks to the Landmark Preservation Commission, Pomander Walk was successfully designated as an Individual Landmark in 1982. It was around this same time that the development was also converted to a co-op. Apartments range in size from small studios to large apartments which take up the entire building.

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Pamela Ajhar

Panorama Columbus Circle, circa 1907. Via Library of Congress

The Prasada at 50 Central Park West - Then and Now

April 05, 2020 by Pamela Ajhar in Architecture

I recently came across a wonderful panoramic photo taken in 1907 of Columbus Circle looking uptown to the Upper West Side. In comparison to today, the entire neighborhood looks almost completely unrecognizable, with the exception of the Columbus Monument (1892) and The Ansonia Hotel in the distance (completed in 1904). I decided to enlarge the photo to get a closer look at the buildings on Central Park West that run up to the mid 60’s. I was amazed to find one building that still stands today; the Ethical Culture School, built in 1902. Under closer inspection, I realized there was a second building, the Prasada, on West 65th. I almost missed it since over the years the façade of the building has been altered quite a bit.

Ethical Culture School with the Prasada in the background

Developer, Samuel B. Haines, commissioned architect Charles Crowning to design the 12-story luxury apartment building. To meet the high expectations of the wealthy clientele and help lure them to the neighborhood, it was necessary to offer state-of-the-art apartment amenities, spacious floor plans and exceptional views of Central Park. Residents were greeted by an impressive portico entrance with four distinctive two-story banded columns and a beautiful lobby leading to a central open court enclosed by a stained glass paneled skylight. The exterior of the building, a combination of brick, limestone and terra cotta with embellishments of Beaux-Art ornamentation was crowned with a distinctive two-story-high mansard roof. The Prasada was completed in 1907.

Images of The Prasada in 1907 and The Prasada Today

Shortly after completion, the building traded ownership several times. In 1919, two investors by the names of Penrhyn Stanlaws and Walter Russell purchased with the plan to reconstruct and transform the building “into a new type of apartment house which is practically a combination of club, hotel, and apartment evolved to meet modern conditions, such as the servant problem and high cost of rents.” Their ambitious plans were somewhat curtailed, but unfortunately they did succeed in removing the mansard roof and upper floor details, replacing it with plain brick. Furthermore, sometime in the 40’s, the stone balustrades on the fourth and tenth floors were removed and the iron railings outside each apartment window were stripped away.

The building was converted to a cooperative in 1988. In 1999, the co-op undertook an extensive renovation project. The firm of Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn was hired to redesign the lobby; a new Beaux-Arts-style mix of columns and cornices illuminated by the original stain-glass skylight panels. Despite the changes over the years, The Prasada, located at 50 Central Park West is still considered one of the most preeminent addresses on the Upper West Side.

The Lobby Today and (below) the Front Entrance and Elevators Today

To read more about the Prasada, read these articles:
NY Times
Daytonian in Manhattan

Pamela Ajhar

Same View as Top Image From Columbus Circle in 1932