The San Remo

The San Remo
View from the southeast
Map
General information
TypeHousing cooperative
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
Address145–146 Central Park West
Town or cityManhattan, New York
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°46′41″N 73°58′30″W / 40.77806°N 73.97500°W / 40.77806; -73.97500
Construction started1929
CompletedSeptember 21, 1930
Height400 ft (120 m)
Technical details
Structural systemSteel superstructure
Floor count27
Lifts/elevators10
Design and construction
Architect(s)Emery Roth
Main contractorHRH Construction
DesignatedMarch 31, 1987[1]
Reference no.1519
DesignatedNovember 9, 1982[2]
Reference no.82001189

The San Remo is a cooperative apartment building at 145 and 146 Central Park West, between 74th and 75th Streets, adjacent to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1929 to 1930 and was designed by architect Emery Roth in the Renaissance Revival style. The San Remo is 27 stories tall, with twin towers rising from a 17-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

The 17-story base surrounds an internal courtyard to the west, while the 10-story towers rise from the eastern portion of the base. There are numerous setbacks between the 14th and 17th stories, which double as terraces. The first three stories are clad in rusticated blocks of limestone, with two main entrances at ground level. The remainder of the facade is made of light brick with terracotta ornamentation, as well as movable windows to improve air circulation. The tops of the towers contain "temples" with round colonnades and lanterns. The building has twin terrazzo and marble lobbies with molded plaster ceilings. On the upper stories, many apartments contain living and dining rooms arranged around a central gallery, as well as bedrooms in the rear. There were originally 122 apartments, each with six to sixteen rooms, but several apartments have been split or combined over the years.

The San Remo replaced an 11-story apartment building with the same name, built in 1891. The current apartment complex was the first building on Central Park West to incorporate large twin towers. The building opened in September 1930, attracting large amounts of commentary from the media. It soon went into receivership following the collapse of the Bank of United States, which held the mortgage. The San Remo experienced financial difficulties throughout much of the 1930s before being acquired in 1940 by an investment syndicate. The building was converted to a housing cooperative in 1972 following a failed conversion attempt in 1970. Over the years, the San Remo has been renovated several times. Its residents have included directors, actors, and musicians.

  1. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1987, p. 1.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.