Prasada is one of New York’s most distinctive pieces of architecture, though not everyone’s favorite. The Beaux Arts apartment building is too heavily ornamented for some, even those who appreciate the building’s landmark qualities. One critic derides the “banded limestone ‘marshmallow’ columns that I have always regarded as one of the truly tasteless architectural elements of all time.”*
Modern viewers have been deprived of the architect’s vision, however. The original French Second Empire mansard roof, balconies and iron railings were removed over the years, altering the structure’s visual balance. Prasada’s original three-apartments-per-floor has (through combination and division) ballooned to 47. Those apartments were two-, three- and four-bedroom affairs – plus one or two servant’s rooms!
Nonetheless, there’s high demand for Prasada’s cooperative apartments: In 2013, the penthouse changed hands for a reported $42 million. Monthly maintenance on the 6,500-square-foot unit is reportedly $19,114. That probably doesn’t include washing the 45 windows.
*Francis Morrone, “The Architectural Guidebook to New York City.”
Prasada Vital Statistics
- Location: 50 Central Park West at W65th Street
- Year completed: 1907
- Architect: Charles W. Romeyn and Henry R. Wynne
- Floors: 12
- Style: Beaux Arts
- New York City Landmark: 1990
Prasada Recommended Reading
- Wikipedia entry
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report (Upper West Side / Central Park West Historic District, Vol. 2, pg. 4)
- The New York Times Streetscapes/The Prasada, at 65th Street and Central Park West; Beaux-Arts, With Turn-of-the-Century Ebullience (August 20, 2000)
- The New York Times Big Ticket | Light-Grabbing Penthouse for $42 Million (April 18, 2014)
- Daytonian in Manhattan blog
- City Realty review
- Street Easy NY listing (includes floor plans)
- Columbia University: NY Real Estate Brochures Collection
- New York Public Library digital collection (description & historical photo)
- New York Public Library digital collection (floor plans)
- Emporis database
- Luxury Apartment Houses of Manhattan: An Illustrated History (Dover Architecture)
- New York’s Fabulous Luxury Apartments: With Original Floor Plans from the Dakota, River House, Olympic Tower and Other Great Buildings
