Apthorp Apartments takes up the entire block from 78th to 79th Streets, Broadway to West End Avenue. It is divided into four sub-buildings around a central courtyard. Built in 1906-1908 by Viscount William Waldorf Astor, who later moved to a castle in England (“America is not a fit place for a gentleman to live”).
The building went condo in 2008 with apartments averaging $6.5 million. (A number of legal issues cropped up, but that’s another story.) The conversion modernized the building to include techy touches like Cat5E (computer network) and FiOS wiring.
Apthorp has New York City landmark status and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Apthorp Apartments Vital Statistics
- Location: 2209 Broadway (whole block from Broadway to West End Avenue, W 78th to W 79th Streets)
- Year completed: 1908
- Architect: Clinton & Russell
- Floors: 12
- Style: Renaissance Revival
- New York City Landmark: 1969
- National Register of Historic Places: 1978
Apthorp Apartments Suggested Reading
- Wikipedia entry
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report
- Apthorp website
- The City Review (Carter B. Horsley) entry