The Majestic (New York City)

The Majestic (or Majestic Apartments) is a twin-towered skyscraper housing cooperative located at 115 Central Park West between 71st Street and 72nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The steel framed building was constructed in 1930–1931 and designed in the Art Deco style by architect and real estate developer Irwin S. Chanin with the assistance of his French associate, Jacques Delamarre.[1] The futuristic sculptures on the building's facade are by Rene Chambellan.[1]

For other uses, see Majestic Building (disambiguation).
Majestic Apartments
Street view
Alternative namesThe Majestic
General information
TypeCo-op
Architectural styleArt Deco
LocationManhattan
Address115 Central Park West
Town or cityNew York, NY
CountryUSA
Coordinates40.7759°N 73.9764°W / 40.7759; -73.9764
Construction started1929
Completed1931
Height105.46 metres (346.0 ft)
Technical details
Structural systemSkyscraper
Floor count31
Design and construction
ArchitectIrwin S. Chanin, Jacques Delamarre
References
The Majestic at Emporis

In 1988, The Majestic was designated a New York City Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[2]

Background
Memorial plate

The building was originally planned to be a 45-story hotel, but the plans were changed midway through construction due to the Great Depression and the passing of the Multiple Dwelling Act,[3] which restricted a building's height immediately above the street, but allowed tall towers if the property was sufficiently large.[2] The Majestic replaced the Hotel Majestic, designed by Alfred Zucker in 1894 at the same site, which had been home to Gustav Mahler and Edna Ferber, among others.[4]

The Majestic has 238 apartments in 29 stories, and is one of four buildings on Central Park West which feature two towers, the others being:[1] The San Remo, The Century—also designed and built by Chanin—and The Eldorado.[1][2]

Residents

Among the notable past and present residents of the Majestic are actors Milton Berle and Zero Mostel, and newspaper columnist Walter Winchell.[5] Fashion designer Marc Jacobs lived there as a teenager with his grandmother in the 1980s,[6] and television personality Conan O'Brien sold his co-op in 2010.[7]

Gangsters

The Majestic was home to some of the former heads of the Luciano crime family (later called the Genovese crime family) including Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky. In 1957, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante shot Frank Costello in the lobby of the Majestic in a failed assassination attempt.[5] Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, a founding member of the New York syndicate, along with Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, and head of its security arm, Murder, Inc., lived in apartment 17J in 1933.[8]

See also

References

Notes

  1. White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot & Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7.
  2. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 135–136. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1.
  3. Multiple Dwelling Law of 1929
  4. Brockmann, Jorg et al. (2002). One Thousand New York Buildings, pp. 342-343., p. 342, at Google Books
  5. Gray, Christopher (August 12, 2007). "Where the Name Says It All". New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  6. Larocca, Amy (August 21, 2005). "Lost and Found". New York Magazine. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  7. "Conan O'Brien sells co-op on Central Park West". New York Post. July 28, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
  8. Burrough, Bryan (2004). Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34.

Bibliography

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