Hotel des Artistes
Map
General information
LocationNew York City, New York
Address1 West 67th Street
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Mort Pollard

Hotel des Artistes is a historic residential building located at 1 West 67th Street, near Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.[1] Completed in 1917, the ornate 17-story, 119-unit Gothic-style building has been home to a long list of writers, artists, and politicians over the years.[2]

History

In 1914, a group of artists—including Walter Russell, Frank DuMond, Willard Metcalf, and Penrhyn Stanlaws[3][4][5]—paid $250,000 to buy a parcel of land on the west side of Central Park with the plans of building Hotel des Artistes.[6][7] At the outset, they planned to erect a 20-story building where 10 stories would be dedicated to artists' studio space and the other 10 would be dedicated to apartments.[6]

Designed by George Mort Pollard, when it opened in 1917, the Hotel des Artistes boasted a large swimming pool, grand ballrooms, rooftop squash courts, a gym, and a restaurant.[5] Apartments had as many as six rooms apiece, and many of the units featured 20-foot lofted ceilings. Kitchens were small, as tenants were able to use their dumbwaiters to receive meals prepared in a kitchen on the second floor.[8] The building is also noted for its pastoral floor-to-ceiling paintings by Howard Chandler Christy, one of its earliest residents.[9]

In 1970, the building transformed into a full co-operative after a new owner purchased it. Several longtime tenants were evicted after a lengthy court battle.[10]

In 1975, violinist turned restaurateur George Lang took over the run-down ground-floor cafe and renovated it, bringing in new diners. Lang and his wife Gloria ran Cafe des Artistes until 2009, when they decided to close it during the recession.[11] In 2011, it reopened under new management as the Leopard at des Artistes.[11]

Noteworthy former residents

In popular culture

References

  1. ^ a b Carter, James T. (November 2, 1958). "Books and Things". The Victoria Advocate. p. 24. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna (June 15, 1995). "Fab West Triplex Just Isn't Good Enough for Babs". Daily News. p. 629. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Russell Heads Artists". The Sun. December 25, 1914. p. 13. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Plan Hotel des Artistes Solely for Illustrators". The Washington Times. February 10, 1915. p. 12. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Model Apartments for Artists on West Side". The New York Times. March 28, 1915. p. 95. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Hotel des Artistes to Go Up". The Sun. December 24, 1914. p. 14. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "Art Pays the Artists". The Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1914. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Heller, Ann (January 23, 1985). "A Little Romance". Dayton Daily News. p. 21. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Upper West Side". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 30, 1997. p. 93. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  10. ^ Meislin, Richard J. (December 13, 1976). "Painter, 80, Loses Studio in Eviction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Grimes, William (July 6, 2011). "George Lang, Mastermind Behind Café des Artistes, Dies at 86". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Slim, H. Colin (Summer 2009). "Lessons with Stravinsky: The Notebook of Earnest Andersson (1878–1943)". Journal of the American Musicological Society. University of California Press. 62 (2): 334–335 – via JSTOR. In New York [Andersson] developed the idea for and was on the board of directors of the Hotel des Artistes ... By 1929 he had amassed at least a million dollars and owned several other apartments in the building...
  13. ^ "The lost, wild world of Caresse Crosby, notorious queen of 1920s Paris society". the Guardian. February 25, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  14. ^ Barbanel, Josh (June 14, 2017). "How a Manhattan Artists Colony Survived a Century of Changes". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "Novelist Fannie Hurst Dies". Bennington Banner. February 24, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "NY Ghosts "Aggressive"". Press and Sun-Bulletin. October 31, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Cain, Scott (April 17, 1977). "Coburn Film to Show Here at Last". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 190. Retrieved December 28, 2020.

External links

40°46′25″N 73°58′44″W / 40.77361°N 73.97889°W / 40.77361; -73.97889

Upper West Side (including Lincoln Square, Manhattan Valley, Riverside South)
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