The Dakota – Manhattan’s Upper Westside – New York City

The Dakota's exterior harkens to the North German Renaissance style of architecture, with its high gables, deep roofs, and a profusion of terra cotta spandrels and panels, dormers, niches, balustrades, and balconies. The layout and floor plan, however, have a strong French influence that was used in New York in the 1870's. Edward Clark, the head of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, commissioned the architectural firm of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh to design the Dakota, which took four years to build (1880-1884). Hardenbergh also designed the Plaza Hotel.

The Dakota is built in a square shape that encloses a central courtyard, which is accessible through the arched passageway of the main entrance. There was also a Dakota Stables building at Amsterdam Avenue and 72^nd Street that had an elevator to bring carriages to upper floors. It was operated as a garage until 2007, and will be developed into a multimillion dollar condominium project. Originally, the Dakota had sixty-five apartments with anywhere from four to twenty rooms, no two alike. The Dakota was unusual for its time, featuring many amenities including private croquet lawns, a garden, a tennis court, central heating; and electricity was generated by an in-house power plant.

The building is well known as the home of the former "Beatle" John Lennon, and his wife Yoko Ono. They moved into The Dakota in 1973, and lived there until Lennon was murdered by Mark Chapman in 1980. Yoko Ono still owns several apartments in the building. The Strawberry Fields memorial is in the park directly across the street, and is the site of an annual public pilgrimage on the anniversary of his death.  Other celebrities who live, or have lived, in the building include Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Flack, Judy Garland, Boris Karloff, Jack Palance, Jason Robards, and Connie Chung, to name a few. In recent years Billy Joel and Gene Simmons were both denied residency by the board.

Apartments currently on the market in the building range from a 1-bedroom for $5,900,000, up to a 4-bedroom for $18,500,000. My favorite is a $14,500,000 3-bedroom / 3 bath apartment on the 7^th floor. It has been painstakingly restored, including all of the original moldings, light fixtures, intricate paneling, and magnificent wood burning fireplaces. It has a state-of-the-art kitchen with custom wood cabinetry. This is truly a residence of distinction!