55 Central Park West is a 19-floor

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...

located on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The building was designed by the architectural firm

Schwartz & Gross Schwartz & Gross was a New York City architectural firm active from at least 1901 to 1963,Central Park West Historic District The Central Park West Historic District is located along Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on ...

, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The building holds significance in American popular culture because the plot of the 1984 film ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

'' revolves heavily around it. Although the building does not have an official name, it is often colloquially referred to as The Ghostbusters Building, The Shandor Building, The Shandor Apartments or Spook Central, the fictional names it is given in the film.

History

Plans for the building, between 65th and 66th Streets, were filed by architectural firm

Schwartz & Gross Schwartz & Gross was a New York City architectural firm active from at least 1901 to 1963,Gaines, Steven (November 7, 2005)
One Apartment, 75 Years"
''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

''. Retrieved April 3, 2007. by the socialite New Yorkers who occupy most of the buildings along

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

. It was opened as a rental property in 1930. Its neighbor to the south is the earlier Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Upon its opening ''Real Estate'' magazine praised it as resembling "

Jungfrau The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the J ...

, that most beloved snowcapped Alpine peak." Musician

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

and industrial designer Raymond Loewy were two of the building's earliest residents.

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

was one of its residents during her Broadway days in the early 1930s. Hat designer Lilly Dache with husband Jean Despres of Coty Perfume were residents following their 1931 marriage until 1935. Other residents of the building have included

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

Ring Lardner, Jr. Ringgold Wilmer Lardner Jr. (August 19, 1915 – October 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter. A member of the "Hollywood Ten", he was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studios during the late 1940s and 1950s after his appearance as an ...

, and

Marsha Mason Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: for her performances in '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two ...

. The duplex penthouse on the 19th and 20th floors was owned by composer

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricis ...

in the 1970s, before he sold it for $1 million to Klein (who later sold it, and then bought it again in the 1990s).

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

later purchased it for $6 million, before selling it for $8.6 million to music executive Steve Gottlieb, who in turn listed it the week his record label TVT Records filed for bankruptcy. He sold the apartment to

Marc Lasry Marc Lasry (born September 23, 1959) is a Moroccan-American billionaire businessman and hedge fund manager. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Avenue Capital Group, and the co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks basketbal ...

(co-founder and CEO of the

Avenue Capital Group Avenue Capital Group is an American multinational investment firm focusing on distressed securities and private equity with regional teams focusing on opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm operates as both a private equ ...

) for $33 million in 2014.

Architecture

The building was the first fully

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

structure on the street.

Facade

The exterior of the building is somewhat non-traditional. As the brick facade rises from the ground it changes shade from deep purple to yellow-white. Color was widely used during the 1920s as a tool in architecture for overall effects. The rental brochure stated: "new modernistic design of exterior with beautiful shaded color scheme". ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''s architecture critic, George S. Chappell, praised the building's use of color, said, "the total effect is exhilarating."

Interior

When the building opened in 1930 it had apartments ranging from three to nine rooms, the largest of which had four bedrooms. The apartments featured a dropped living room, developed by the Earle brothers, which set the interior apart from most others constructed around the same period. An original rental brochure shows the dropped living room nearly entirely open to the entrance gallery; traditionally the gallery was held as a different room.

Significance

The building is a contributing property to the

Central Park West Historic District The Central Park West Historic District is located along Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on ...

, which was added to the

on November 9, 1982."Central Park West Historic District"
. (

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

)
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
, New York's State and

Document Imaging Project, New York State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved April 3, 2007. It is also a contributing property to the New York City's Upper West Side / Central Park West local historic district. Benjamin Schwarz, writing for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', said of the buildings along Central Park West, "no endeavor on earth is more arduous than getting into one of these buildings," and specifically cited the "details of

's deal for her digs at 55 Central Park West."Schwarz, Benjamin (May 2005)
"Eminent Domains"
''

''. Retrieved April 3, 2007. The building holds significance in American popular culture as it was prominently featured in the 1984 comedy ''

''. In the film, "550 Central Park West" – known also as The Shandor Building, The Shandor Apartments or "Spook Central" – was the residence of the Ghostbusters' first client, cellist

Dana Barrett The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...

(

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gram ...

). They later learn it had been designed and constructed by insane architect and surgeon

Ivo Shandor The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...

, who founded and led a secret society in 1920, The Cult of Gozer, dedicated to the worship of

Gozer the Gozerian The ''Ghostbusters'' franchise spans multiple films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film ''Ghostbusters'', directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, ...

. Since ''

'' first hit theaters, 55 Central Park West has been known as the "Ghostbusters Building;" it was portrayed much taller and with the rooftop temple,, June 8, 1984. via the eight floors that were added to exterior shots of it via

matte painting A matte painting is a painting, painted representation of a landscape, set (film and TV scenery), set, or distant location that allows filmmaking, filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. H ...

Production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

/Art director

John DeCuir John DeCuir (June 4, 1918 – October 29, 1991) was a Hollywood art director and production designer known for his elaborate set designs that were illustrated with his own watercolor paintings.http://www.adg.org/?content=cm§ion=14 www.adg.or ...

. The Gozerian Temple consisted of its massive, ornate shrine, altars, obelisks and the iconic

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

statues depicting The Terror Dogs, Zuul The Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho The Keymaster.Wallace, Daniel (October 27, 2015). ''Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History'', Insight Editions.

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

. p. 31-32, 38-39, 48.

References

External links

55 Central Park West
profile on City Realty.com
Emporis.com
{{Ghostbusters Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan Residential buildings completed in 1929 Art Deco architecture in Manhattan Art Deco skyscrapers Central Park West Historic District Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Residential buildings in Manhattan Ghostbusters Upper West Side