The Apthorp

The Apthorp is a historic residential building on Manhattan's Upper West Side that occupies an entire city block between Broadway, West End Avenue, and 78th and 79th Streets. Designed by the architecture firm Clinton & Russell in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the twelve-story building was constructed between 1905 and 1908 for William Waldorf Astor. Its name derives from the Apthorp Farm that once stood on the site. A New York City landmark and listed historic monument, the building is still regarded as one of the city's most magnificent residences. The limestone facade is divided horizontally into three sections and recalls the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

Visitors and residents enter the building through monumental, three-story archways on the Broadway and West End Avenue sides. These lead into an inner courtyard designed as a private retreat. The courtyard has an oval driveway, an octagonal garden, and two fountains, which together with marble benches and statues give it the feel of a European piazza or an aristocratic estate. The architecture of the courtyard mirrors the exterior facade and brings additional daylight into the apartments. The ground floor now houses retail shops, while the upper floors contain spacious apartments with high ceilings and large windows.

The building's history is closely tied to the Astor family, who operated it for more than four decades before it was sold in 1950. Over time the building was altered several times; in the 1930s and 1940s, for example, large units were divided into smaller apartments. Following an extensive renovation and conversion into condominiums in 2010, the building now contains about 155 units. Many of the apartments feature elaborate detailing, parquet floors, and historic design elements. The Apthorp is not only an architectural highlight but is also known for the many celebrities from the worlds of theater, literature, and film who have lived here over the years.