Central Park West Historic District

Central Park West, facing Central Park on Manhattan's Upper West Side, forms a linear district of tall luxury apartment buildings between 61st and 96th Streets. Development began with the American Museum of Natural History in 1874 and the Dakota apartments in 1884, whose quality shaped later growth. About forty high-quality apartment buildings followed over five decades, in styles including French Second Empire, Beaux-Arts, Neo-Italian Renaissance and Art Deco. Twin-towered Art Deco buildings such as the Century, Majestic, San Remo and Eldorado define the skyline. Four turn-of-the-century churches, a synagogue, the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of Natural History are mixed among the residences. The last major construction came in 1940, and only one modern building, from 1965, does not contribute to the district's character. The nomination presents the street as New York's finest residential avenue, notable for its architectural cohesion and for having changed little since the 1930s, despite the city's constant redevelopment.