{"nrhp_refnum":"09000304","name":"240 Central Park South","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"240 Central Park S.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.76928931200007,"lon":-73.98076927499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A luxury apartment complex at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, between Central Park South and West 58th Street, built in 1939-40 to designs by Mayer & Whittlesey. It has a 28-story north tower, a 15-story south tower and a one-story retail base.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is a significant and innovative design that bridges 1930s Art Deco courtyard apartment towers and post-World War II modernist apartment houses. It is noted for sophisticated planning on a complex site, minimal applied ornament, and generous light, air and corner balconies. It was praised by Architectural Forum and Lewis Mumford.","narrative":"Overlooking Central Park at Columbus Circle, 240 Central Park South is a brick apartment complex completed in 1939-40 and designed by Albert Mayer and Julian Whittlesey. A C-shaped north tower of twenty-eight stories with twenty-story wings faces the park, while a fifteen-story south tower fronts West 58th Street. Both look onto a landscaped central courtyard, and curved storefronts line the Broadway side. Orange brick, steel casement windows and cantilevered concrete balconies give the buildings their character, with almost no applied ornament apart from terra-cotta details and Amedee Ozenfant's mosaic mural. Its planning was prized for maximizing light, air and park views, and it was marketed with the slogan \"Where the Park is Part of the Plan.\" It is recognized for architecture as a transitional work between Art Deco towers and later modernist apartment houses. A 2007 restoration returned storefronts, lobbies and other features to their original appearance, and about 308 apartments remain in use.","period_of_significance":"1939-1940","architect_builder":"Mayer & Whittlesey; built by J.H. Taylor Construction Company","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco; Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Restoration completed in 2007 covering exterior masonry, storefronts, entries, terraces, lobbies and elevators; the building remains in multiple-dwelling use with 308 apartments, and the eastern restaurant space is noted as vacant.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:54.028271-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09000304.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000304/150ebe7c0e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000304/150ebe7c0e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Americasroof","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:240-cpw.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:240-cpw.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000538","name":"Central Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/central-park-66000538/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319229","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/240_Central_Park_South","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5651700"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/240-central-park-south-09000304/"}