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The Century (building)
Encyclopedia
The Century is a 1931 Art Deco
apartment building located along Central Park West
in Manhattan
, New York City
. It was constructed at a cost of $6.5 million and designed by the firm of Irwin S. Chanin.
Architecturally, it is cast in the Art Deco style, which causes it stand out from many of its neighbors, which are designed in the Beaux-Arts style. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places
, as a contributing property
to the Central Park West Historic District
, in 1982. The building, also part of a local historic district, is one of the three tallest structures within the boundaries of the district. A tenant-landlord dispute at The Century was ongoing for most of the 1980s. As of 2010, properties within the building sold for as much as US$
19,000,000.
, which was demolished in 1930-31 to make way for the apartments. The building name, The Century, is derived from the common name of the theater which had occupied the site.
Architect Irwin S. Chanin's office executed a US$
1.25 million bond
to guarantee the construction of "a twenty-nine story apartment building" at 25 Central Park West on October 25, 1930. The construction was handled by another Chanin company, Chanin Construction Company. Construction would require over 3,000,000 ft (914,400 m) of electrical wiring
, three times what was required for the 56-story Chanin Building. The address, between 62nd and 63rd Streets was once the site of the Century Theatre
, which Chanin acquired in order to build on the site. The Century Theatre was initially well-backed by many wealthy New Yorkers but it quickly lost money. The theater was still being demolished in late October 1930 when Chanin's firm secured a $6.5 million loan from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
for the construction of The Century. As the moves to begin The Century project were occurring, Chanin's The Majestic was already under construction nearby, in the 100 block of Central Park West.
Theater demolition pushed forward through early November. In the November 9, 1930 edition of the New York Times Irwin Chanin remarked regarding construction of The Majestic and The Century. He noted that, together, the two projects would employ a daily average of 3,000 men with rates of pay identical "those in vogue during the boom days of 1927 when we were erecting the Chanin Building
." In January 1931, with demolition at the theater site winding down, a time capsule
was pulled from the cornerstone
of the Century Theatre. Among its contents was a congratulatory letter from U.S. President at the time of the theater's construction, Theodore Roosevelt.
October 1930 predictions had scheduled the building for completion by October 31, 1931. By April 1931 construction began and by the end of May 1931 the steel structure for The Century was complete up to its 15 floor. Within thirty days the entire steel structure was complete, rapid progress made possible by, according Irwin Chanin "coordination and overlapping of various trades employed." On June 21, 1931 it was reported that the average number of workers since the beginning of construction was 1,050, with up to 1,400 employed at one time. Original predictions, by Chanin, estimated 1,500 men would be employed, on average per day, for a period of one year during construction. By September 1931 work on The Century was nearing completion and apartments were already being offered for rent.
The 1980s saw controversy surround The Century. The building was purchased in 1982 by an investment group and a proposal that thirteen months would have created a cooperative corporation
of The Century. The proposal offered to sell the building, purchased for $36 million, to the tenants for $110 million. That proposal was quickly nixed by the New York State Attorney General's Office but it engendered a long running "kill or be killed relationship" between the building's tenants
and its owner
s. In 1983 tenants accused owners of neglecting to maintain the property and sought court action against the owners. Lawyers representing about 200 tenants described the building as a slum "with crumbling walls both inside and out, vermin
infestation, extensive leaks, and virtually everything else that can go wrong with a structure." The move was one in a tenant-owner dispute that would last until 1989 when an agreement was finally reached. The New York Times called the dispute, "one of the longest, bitterest conversion fights in Manhattan apartment house history." It ended with a compromise that allowed tenants in 229 of the 410 apartments to purchase their apartments at prices which were estimated to be one half or one third the market rate. By February 1989 several of the apartments new owners had sold their individual properties at profits exceeding $1,000,000. The investment group that purchased the building in 1982, Century Apartment Associates, saw their investment rise in value from $36 million to around $140 million.
In the 21st century, as it has been historically, The Century is largely an upscale apartment house. As of May 2010 six bedroom apartments in The Century sold for around $19,000,000 with one bedrooms selling for between $875,000 and $1,675,000.
, was among the first residential buildings to use what had been predominantly an office building style of architecture. Both The Century and The Majestic stand 30-stories and their Art Deco
motifs stand in contrast to the Beaux-Arts buildings that surround them. The building was designed by the Office of Irwin S. Chanin, with Architectural Director Jacques Delamarre at the head of the design team. It was then constructed in 1930 and/or 1931, sources vary slightly.
The Century features art deco "machine-inspired" towers and cantilever
ed floor slabs. The floor slabs prevent the necessity of corner columns thus allowing the building to be fitted with large corner windows. The three ornate entrances face Central Park West, 62nd, and 63rd Streets. During the 1980s the building held 410 apartments, ranging in size from one to eight bedrooms; 52 of the apartments had large terrace
s. The main lobby, on the ground floor, houses professional offices.
, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982. It is one of four "twin-towered" structures in the historic district
, including The Eldorado
, and The San Remo
. Collectively these buildings contribute to the unique skyline of the Upper West Side
along Central Park West. The Century was designated a local landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
on July 10, 1985. The designation subjects improvements and changes to the property to various local regulations and rules administered by the Landmarks Commission. Upon its designation as a local landmark the Commission staff remarked that The Century was a "sophisticated essay in Art Deco design exhibiting a complex balance of horizontal and vertical elements." At 30 floors it and two other structures hold the title of the tallest building in the federally designated Central Park West Historic District. The height of the buildings were shaped primarily by the Multiple Dwelling Act of 1929 which allowed apartment buildings no higher than 19 stories. The law provided an exclusion for taller buildings, such as The Century, if a building site was sufficiently large and the building itself occupied no more than 20% of the site.The apartment building shares a name with its site's predecessor, the Century Theatre, which was commonly known as simply, The Century.
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
apartment building located along Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It was constructed at a cost of $6.5 million and designed by the firm of Irwin S. Chanin.
Architecturally, it is cast in the Art Deco style, which causes it stand out from many of its neighbors, which are designed in the Beaux-Arts style. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, as a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Central Park West Historic District
Central Park West Historic District
The Central Park West Historic District is located in Manhattan, New York City, United States along historic Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982...
, in 1982. The building, also part of a local historic district, is one of the three tallest structures within the boundaries of the district. A tenant-landlord dispute at The Century was ongoing for most of the 1980s. As of 2010, properties within the building sold for as much as US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19,000,000.
History
The Century apartment building is located on the former site of the Century TheatreCentury Theatre
The Century Theatre, originally the New Theatre, was a theater located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful...
, which was demolished in 1930-31 to make way for the apartments. The building name, The Century, is derived from the common name of the theater which had occupied the site.
Architect Irwin S. Chanin's office executed a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.25 million bond
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
to guarantee the construction of "a twenty-nine story apartment building" at 25 Central Park West on October 25, 1930. The construction was handled by another Chanin company, Chanin Construction Company. Construction would require over 3,000,000 ft (914,400 m) of electrical wiring
Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. This article is intended to...
, three times what was required for the 56-story Chanin Building. The address, between 62nd and 63rd Streets was once the site of the Century Theatre
Century Theatre
The Century Theatre, originally the New Theatre, was a theater located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful...
, which Chanin acquired in order to build on the site. The Century Theatre was initially well-backed by many wealthy New Yorkers but it quickly lost money. The theater was still being demolished in late October 1930 when Chanin's firm secured a $6.5 million loan from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
for the construction of The Century. As the moves to begin The Century project were occurring, Chanin's The Majestic was already under construction nearby, in the 100 block of Central Park West.
Theater demolition pushed forward through early November. In the November 9, 1930 edition of the New York Times Irwin Chanin remarked regarding construction of The Majestic and The Century. He noted that, together, the two projects would employ a daily average of 3,000 men with rates of pay identical "those in vogue during the boom days of 1927 when we were erecting the Chanin Building
Chanin Building
The Chanin Building is a brick and terra-cotta skyscraper located at 122 East 42nd Street, at the corner of Lexington Avenue, in Manhattan. Built by Irwin S. Chanin in 1929, it is 56 stories high, reaching excluding the spire and including it...
." In January 1931, with demolition at the theater site winding down, a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
was pulled from the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
of the Century Theatre. Among its contents was a congratulatory letter from U.S. President at the time of the theater's construction, Theodore Roosevelt.
October 1930 predictions had scheduled the building for completion by October 31, 1931. By April 1931 construction began and by the end of May 1931 the steel structure for The Century was complete up to its 15 floor. Within thirty days the entire steel structure was complete, rapid progress made possible by, according Irwin Chanin "coordination and overlapping of various trades employed." On June 21, 1931 it was reported that the average number of workers since the beginning of construction was 1,050, with up to 1,400 employed at one time. Original predictions, by Chanin, estimated 1,500 men would be employed, on average per day, for a period of one year during construction. By September 1931 work on The Century was nearing completion and apartments were already being offered for rent.
The 1980s saw controversy surround The Century. The building was purchased in 1982 by an investment group and a proposal that thirteen months would have created a cooperative corporation
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
of The Century. The proposal offered to sell the building, purchased for $36 million, to the tenants for $110 million. That proposal was quickly nixed by the New York State Attorney General's Office but it engendered a long running "kill or be killed relationship" between the building's tenants
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
and its owner
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
s. In 1983 tenants accused owners of neglecting to maintain the property and sought court action against the owners. Lawyers representing about 200 tenants described the building as a slum "with crumbling walls both inside and out, vermin
Vermin
Vermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded by some as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area to area and even person to person...
infestation, extensive leaks, and virtually everything else that can go wrong with a structure." The move was one in a tenant-owner dispute that would last until 1989 when an agreement was finally reached. The New York Times called the dispute, "one of the longest, bitterest conversion fights in Manhattan apartment house history." It ended with a compromise that allowed tenants in 229 of the 410 apartments to purchase their apartments at prices which were estimated to be one half or one third the market rate. By February 1989 several of the apartments new owners had sold their individual properties at profits exceeding $1,000,000. The investment group that purchased the building in 1982, Century Apartment Associates, saw their investment rise in value from $36 million to around $140 million.
In the 21st century, as it has been historically, The Century is largely an upscale apartment house. As of May 2010 six bedroom apartments in The Century sold for around $19,000,000 with one bedrooms selling for between $875,000 and $1,675,000.
Architecture
The Century, along with its one year older sister building, The MajesticThe Majestic (coop)
The Majestic is a housing cooperative located at 115 Central Park West between 71st Street and 72nd in New York City. The apartment building was constructed in 1930-1931 in the Art Deco style by real estate developer Irwin S. Chanin...
, was among the first residential buildings to use what had been predominantly an office building style of architecture. Both The Century and The Majestic stand 30-stories and their Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
motifs stand in contrast to the Beaux-Arts buildings that surround them. The building was designed by the Office of Irwin S. Chanin, with Architectural Director Jacques Delamarre at the head of the design team. It was then constructed in 1930 and/or 1931, sources vary slightly.
The Century features art deco "machine-inspired" towers and cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed floor slabs. The floor slabs prevent the necessity of corner columns thus allowing the building to be fitted with large corner windows. The three ornate entrances face Central Park West, 62nd, and 63rd Streets. During the 1980s the building held 410 apartments, ranging in size from one to eight bedrooms; 52 of the apartments had large terrace
Terrace (building)
A terrace is an outdoor, occupiable extension of a building above ground level. Although its physical characteristics may vary to a great degree, a terrace will generally be larger than a balcony and will have an "open-top" facing the sky...
s. The main lobby, on the ground floor, houses professional offices.
Significance
The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic DistrictCentral Park West Historic District
The Central Park West Historic District is located in Manhattan, New York City, United States along historic Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1982...
, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982. It is one of four "twin-towered" structures in the historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
, including The Eldorado
The Eldorado
The Eldorado at 300 Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of New York City, is the northernmost of four twin-towered luxury housing cooperatives that face the west side of Central Park...
, and The San Remo
The San Remo
The San Remo is a luxury, 27-floor, co-operative apartment building in New York City located between 74th and 75th streets, about 1/10 of a mile north of the Dakota building The San Remo is described by Glen Justice of the New York Times as "a dazzling two-tower building with captivating views...
. Collectively these buildings contribute to the unique skyline of the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
along Central Park West. The Century was designated a local landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
on July 10, 1985. The designation subjects improvements and changes to the property to various local regulations and rules administered by the Landmarks Commission. Upon its designation as a local landmark the Commission staff remarked that The Century was a "sophisticated essay in Art Deco design exhibiting a complex balance of horizontal and vertical elements." At 30 floors it and two other structures hold the title of the tallest building in the federally designated Central Park West Historic District. The height of the buildings were shaped primarily by the Multiple Dwelling Act of 1929 which allowed apartment buildings no higher than 19 stories. The law provided an exclusion for taller buildings, such as The Century, if a building site was sufficiently large and the building itself occupied no more than 20% of the site.The apartment building shares a name with its site's predecessor, the Century Theatre, which was commonly known as simply, The Century.
External links
- 25CPW Official Site
- The Century from CityRealty