Roomble editorial team on an architectural touris currently in New York, where he shares his most interesting impressions We were lucky with the flight, and for some reason there was no frightening jet lag. So, having left our things at the hotel, we went to look at the architecture and design. But in order to better understand why this or that architecture turned out to be typical for certain areas of New York, we had to immerse ourselves in the history of the city. In New York - like probably nowhere else - the area of residence is of colossal importance. And the distance to the center is not the main thing here. Especially when you live in Manhattan. It would seem, what more? However, Manhattan is so big that at the bottom there is Wall Street, and at the top there is already Harlem. And those who think that if you live near Central Park, then life is at least a quarter successful, are deeply mistaken. Because to the west, south and east of Central Park are indeed the most expensive areas of Manhattan, but to the north is exactly that same Harlem. The division of social classes by the area of residence in New York is still alive. Everyone is supposed to live in their own place: aristocrats - on the West Side, the bourgeoisie and the wealthy intelligentsia - on the East Side, businessmen - in Chelsea, the creative public - in the Brooklyn Heights area, hipsters - in Williamsburg. Therefore, the architecture of each area really differs.
Upper West Side For example, in the area wherewe settled in — the Upper West Side — it is not uncommon to see Victorian and Art Nouveau houses. A striking example of Art Nouveau is the Ansonia Hotel building on Broadway. Built in 1899, the Ansonia Hotel became both the largest hotel in America and the most modernized. As early as 1904, all rooms were equipped with air conditioning. This hotel was truly luxurious: the rooms included a large number of rooms and were rented out as apartments to aristocrats and celebrities. At one time, Feodor Chaliapin, Igor Stravinsky, Enrico Caruso and others lived here. The hotel was built by the architect Paul Dubois, who generously decorated its facades in the French spirit. By the way, an 18-story iron frame is hidden under the elegant facade. Now the building houses the campus of the American Music and Drama Academy.
A couple of hundred meters from our hotelAnother famous New York house was located here - the Dakota cooperative, built in 1884 by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. The Dakota Apartments residential building is one of the most prestigious in Manhattan, an apartment here can cost 30 million dollars. The most famous residents of the Dakota were actress Judy Garland, composer Leonard Bernstein, actor Boris Karloff, dancer Rudolf Nureyev and, of course, John Lennon, who, by the way, was killed in the arch of this house. Yoko Ono, John Lennon's widow, still lives in this building. But when Madonna wanted to buy an apartment here, she was refused even before the interview. It sounds crazy, but in the cooperatives located on the Upper West Side, it is still customary to survey everyone who wants to buy real estate and arrange an interview with them. And the person's wealth does not play the main role here.
Here in the Upper West Side, wewere lucky enough to see a luxury apartment for sale. A fantastically beautiful house, completely covered with stone, gave the impression of a building from the beginning of the last century. But in fact, it turned out that it was built not so long ago by the famous architect Robert Stern. The magnificent halls in the Art Deco style, its own garden and a tiny private fitness with a swimming pool made a vivid impression on us. And when we went up to the 28th floor and saw Manhattan from a bird's eye view, it really took our breath away. 29 and a half million dollars immediately seemed like not such a big sum for these crazy views. Of course, the apartment itself also turned out to be very beautiful. Six rooms, a kitchen and four bathrooms - by the standards of the Upper West Side, quite modest. But the views of three sides of Manhattan are unimaginable.
That's where our West Side story ends.and another one began - Riverside, but more about that another time. By the way, such films as "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "The Devil's Advocate", "Autumn in New York", "Sex and the City" were filmed on Riverside. The editors express their deep gratitude to designer and decorator Maria Savina for her help in organizing the viewing of elite real estate.
How to live in America: apartments and life in Manhattan, West Side
