The Kenilworth, 151 Central Park West: Review and Ratings

Review of 151 Central Park West by Carter Horsley

This very handsome French Second Empire-style apartment building has a superb location, magnificent views of Central Park and a very grand entrance flanked by banded columns.

Designed by Townsend, Steinle and Haskell for the Lenox Realty Company, this 13-story building, which is surrounded by a dry moat, was erected in 1908 and converted to a cooperative in 1958. It has only 42 apartments.

In their delightful book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Third Edition," (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988), Elliot Willensky and Norval White describe the building as a "cubical, russet-brick wedding cake topped by a grand convex mansard roof." The authors were referring not to setbacks, which do not exist, as in most "wedding cake zoning" in the city, but to the sumptuous, seemingly extravagant "icing" of limestone detailing. "The whipped-cream efforts are executed in limestone in the interests of posterity," they remarked.

In his fine book, ""New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments With Original Floor Plans from the Dakota, River House, Olympic Tower and Other Great Buildings," (Dover Publications, Inc., 1987)," Andrew Alpern wrote that the Kenilworth "has three apartments on each floor, two of which are of a modified long-hall variety." "While not exceptional in their planning or appointments, these suites," he continued, "have been kept surprisingly intact, considering their age. Minor interior alterations have been wrought over the years, but the exterior of the building has hardly changed from the architect's original intentions."

The Kenilworth is one of several distinguished French Second Empire-style apartment houses on the West Side that are among the city's most wonderful residential buildings. The others include the Ansonia and the Dorilton, which are on Broadway at 73rd and 70th Streets, respectively, and the St. Urban, which is 285 Central Park West at 89th Street.

This building's location is excellent as it is three blocks north of a subway station in front of the fabled Dakota apartment building and across 75th Street from the legendary San Remo apartment building.

Carter B. Horsley