The Belnord
The Belnord is an apartment building at Broadway and 86th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is a New York City Landmark and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]
Belnord Apartments | |
 The Belnord | |
    | |
| Location | 225 W. 86th St. New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°47′18″N 73°58′34″W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1908 |
| Architect | Weekes, H. Hobart |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Italian Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002670[1] |
| NYCL No. | 0289 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1980 |
| Designated NYCL | September 20, 1966 |
Construction
The Belnord was designed in 1908 by the architectural firm of Hiss and Weekes and finished construction in 1909.[2] The architect boasted to The New York Times that it was "largest apartment house in this country, if not in the world."[2][3]
It had 175 apartments for rent, housing more than 1,500 people.[2]
It is 13 stories tall and features Italian Renaissance style decorative elements. One of a handful of full-block apartment buildings in New York, it features two massive, two-story grand archways that provide entrance to an inner courtyard (one of the largest in the city[4]) with landscaped gardens.[5] Notable residents have included the writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, actor Zero Mostel and jazz impresario Art D'Lugoff.
History
The building was acquired by Extell Development Company in 1994 for $15 million.[6] For the next 20 years, Extell fought to deregulate the building and remove its rent-stabilized status. In March 2015, the residential portion of the building was sold to the HFZ Capital Group for $575 million.[7] HFZ hired architect Robert A. M. Stern to renovate 95 of the building's apartments, which would be sold as condos for a total value of over $1.35 billion.[8]
The Belnord was used for exterior shots as the fictional Arconia Building in the comedic murder mystery series Only Murders in the Building.[9]
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- The Apthorp – another full-block apartment building with an interior courtyard
References
Notes
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- Green, Penelope (June 27, 2022). "The Wild History of the Real 'Only Murders' Building". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- "NEW FLATHOUSE TO BE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD; Will Cover a Full Block on Broadway and Have 175 Apartments. TWELVE STORIES IN HEIGHT Large Courtyard Will Have Grass Plot as Children's Playground -- New Structure Will Cost $3,000,000". The New York Times. September 4, 1908. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- Horsley, Carter B. "The Belnord".
- Bradley Frandsen; Joan R. Olshansky & Elizabeth Spencer-Ralph (October 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Belnord Apartments". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved March 25, 2011. See also: "Accompanying three photos".
- Jones, David (November 22, 2013). "Appeals court voids Extell's Belnord tenant deal". The Real Deal.
- Barbanel, Josh (March 12, 2015). "The Belnord on Upper West Side Gets a New Owner". Wall Street Journal.
- Carmiel, Oshrat (April 5, 2017). "Historic NYC Building Aims for $1.35 Billion Condo Conversion". Bloomberg.
- Young, Michelle (August 31, 2021). "Filming Locations for Only Murders in the Building". Untapped New York. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
Further reading
- Green, Penelope (June 27, 2022). "The Wild History of the Real 'Only Murders' Building". New York City, New York: New York Times.
- Tullo, Vincent (June 27, 2022). "The Storied History of the Belnord". New York City, New York: New York Times.
External links
Media related to The Belnord at Wikimedia Commons
