Borough and State: Manhattan, New York
Listed: 1990
Type of district: National Register historic district, local historic district
Main Intersection: Columbus Avenue and West 63rd Street
Upper West Side/Central Park West LPC Historic District Report Part 1
Upper West Side/Central Park West LPC Historic District Report Part 2
Upper West Side/Central Park West LPC Historic District Report Part 3
Upper West Side/Central Park West LPC Historic District Map
The Upper West Side/Central Park West historic district is wedged between Central Park and Amsterdam Avenue, and West 62nd and 96th streets. Development of the area started in the 1850s with the construction of Central Park, but it was the building boom from the late 1890s to the Great Depression that resulted in development of the majestic twin- and triple-towered apartment buildings along Central Park West that still exist today. Similarly, commercial structures and large and small apartment houses characterize the other north-south avenues and major cross streets, while speculatively built row houses dominate the streetscapes of the side streets.
The brownstone row houses are from the last period of row house development in Manhattan, at the very end of the 19th century. Apartment construction began to be more common in the years leading up to World War I and continued after it. The neighborhood was largely developed by the 1930s and also includes such institutions as the Museum of Natural History.