Dakota—the Most Famous Apartment Building in New York City (2024)
The venerable Dakota is one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York and certainly the most famous. Designed to resemble a Renaissance chateaux and styled as a fortress surrounded by a moat, the Dakota has a romantic feel and an air of the unattainable.
Built in 1884, it was the first building to rise along Central Park West and subsequently launched the development of the Upper West Side. Picture this: before the Dakota was being conceived in the late 1870s, the city was solidly built up only to midtown (the 30s streets). The present location was sparsely inhabited and extremely difficult to get to. As Central Park was still new, it took a special vision to dream up luxury living along the Park located way above the populated areas of the city. The man with the vision was Edward Clark, co-founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, who had the foresight to see that property adjacent to Central Park would be golden.
Speaking of gold, Dakota was still Indian Territory at that time and rich in the prized metal. Clark’s building was so far uptown that the project was met with widespread skepticism. Mocking the edifice as “Clark’s folly,” his critics cried that the building was so far uptown that it might as well be in Dakota. Clark’s response? Naming it just that: the Dakota! Clark played up the metaphor by decorating the building with Indian motives, the most prominent of which was the head of an Indian over the main entrance.
Clark propagated the idea of naming Upper West Side avenues after western states and territories, though it never materialized—with the only exception being his luxury apartment building. The name stuck and the Dakota proved to be pure gold. Despite the remote location, it was a huge social and financial success from the very start—all apartments were rented out even before the building opened.Sadly, Edward Cabot Clark never got to enjoy seeing vision turn into a reality—he died in 1882, while the Dakota was still being constructed.
During the Gilded Age, luxury living was associated with private mansions while apartments suggested poverty and low social status. The Dakota was one of the first places that changed that notion once and for all. It was built to the highest standard of luxury: there were originally 65 apartments, with no two alike, and each containing 4 to 20 rooms. The floors were inlaid with mahogany, oak, cherry, and even sterling silver. There was a large dining hall on the premises, but if the tenants did not feel like dining in the restaurant they could request for meals to be sent up to their apartments by dumbwaiters.Electricity was generated by an in-house power plant, and the building had its own central heating. The upper floors were set aside as servants’ quarters and children’s playrooms.
The Dakota’s modern-day notoriety owes itself to the tragic death of former Beatle John Lennon. In 1980, he was assassinated by a crazed fan right in front of the building.
Besides Lennon, the Dakota was the residence of quite a few famous personalities: Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, Rudolf Nureyev, Leonard Bernstein, Rosemary Clooney, and Yoko Ono, among others. The list of Dakota’s rejects is no less impressive: Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Cher, Billy Joel, and Madonna were among those turned down by the board.
While so many old luxury apartments went out of fashion, the Dakota, built in 1884, remains one of the most desirable addresses as well as one of the most attractive residential buildings in the city.
Location: West 72nd Street @ Central Park West
Built: 1881-84
Architect: Henry J Hardenbergh
Style: an eclectic mix of German Renaissance, French Renaissance, Gothic Revival
Perhaps the most famous New York City co-operative apartment building, the Dakota
the Dakota
The Dakota was constructed between 1880 and 1884 in the German Renaissance style and was designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh for businessman Edward Cabot Clark. The building was one of the first large developments on the Upper West Side and is the oldest remaining luxury apartment building in New York City.
at 1 West 72nd Street has long been home to celebrities because of its spacious residences, prime Central Park location and storied history. The Dakota sits just to the west of Central Park and sports an instantly recognizable façade.
The Dakota gained attention when John Lennon, a resident and former member of the rock band the Beatles, was shot dead outside the building on December 8, 1980.
Following Lennon's death, Ono continued to live in the Dakota building in New York City for more than four decades. However, it was recently revealed that after spending 50 years in the city, she had decided to relocate to a 600-acre farm located in upstate New York, which she and Lennon purchased together in 1978.
As of today, the Dakota offers a total of 94 units, most of which are occupied. However, there are currently four active listings in the building, ranging from a $12.5 million park-facing apartment with three bedrooms to a 730-square-foot one-bedroom apartment for $1.295 million on the ninth floor.
Lennon moved into the Upper West Side apartment complex in 1973. To the distaste of some other residents, the couple at one point owned five units at the Dakota, which — in addition to being their primary residence — they used as a guest home, a storage space and a studio for Ms. Ono.
The directors of “Ghostbusters” and “Rosemary's Baby” both chose sites at New York City's Central Park West to shoot scenes for their paranormal flicks. We take a look at the posh street to uncover the supernatural powers that be.
It is one of the world's most beautiful, and well known residential buildings. From the decorative finials and gothic gables, to the unique gated entryway, and amazing interior and exterior courtyard. No other building in Manhattan can compare to The Dakota.
The building gained even more fame in 1980 when Beatles front man John Lennon was shot dead outside of the building as he resided there with his wife, Yoko Ono. Ono still lives in the apartment building along with her and Lennon's son, Sean.
Feb 26, 2023 - 90-year-old Yoko Ono has sold the home she shared with her husband John Lennon in the Dakota building, across from Central Park. Yoko is headed to the upstate NY farm they purchased in 1978 where her son, Sean, will look after her. She will be missed but always considered an Upper West Sider.
May Fung Yee Pang (born October 24, 1950) is an American former music executive. She worked for John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a personal assistant and production coordinator. When Lennon and Ono separated in 1973, Pang and Lennon began a relationship that lasted more than 18 months.
Few public figures are as synonymous with the Upper West Side as Yoko Ono. The 90-year-old has called the hallowed halls of The Dakota home since 1973, when she and late husband John Lennon moved into a spacious spread on the seventh floor.
Lauren Bacall, Jason Robards, Leonard Bernstein, Lillian Gish, Rosemary Clooney, Roberta Flack, Jose Ferrer, Boris Karloff, Judy Garland, Rudolf Nureyev, Gilda Radner—these are just some of the celebs who have called the Dakota home ... or second or third home.
Though they lived as neighbors for decades, Flack listed her Dakota apartment for sale in 2015, and it eventually sold in 2018. Ono still lives in the storied building, which sits on Central Park West.
In reporting her death, The New York Times mentioned that The Belnord had been “a center of the Upper West Side's intellectual life, home over the years to figures like the Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Actors Studio founder Lee Strasberg and the actor Zero Mostel.” Other well-known residents ...
Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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