The Apthorp

Story

The Apthorp is a historic condominium apartment building in Manhattan, New York City. The Italian Renaissance Revival building designed by architects Clinton & Russell for William Waldorf Astor, was built between 1906 and 1908; it occupies the full block between Broadway and West End Avenue and between West 78th and West 79th streets. The building, which has been called "Monumental and magnificent", is built around a large interior courtyard. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1969, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.The building was named for Charles Ward Apthorp, who owned Apthorp Farm, which encompassed about 300acre in this part of Manhattan in the late 18th century.A three-story rusticated base and the rustication of the broader corner bays as well as string moldings serve together to articulate the otherwise block-like mass. Arch-headed windows contrast with rectangular ones to emphasize lightly certain positions, notably the enriched uppermost floor under the projecting cornice. Over-lifesize limestone sculptures representing the Four Seasons stand above the central barrel-vaulted entrance, where the elaborate wrought-iron gates in the manner of Samuel Yellin feature a pair of gazelle heads.