By Maria Gorshin
You’ve walked past it a million times but you might have been too busy with Upper West Side concerns like maneuvering a stroller, poop-scooping or hurrying to sunset yoga at Riverside Park to notice. It’s “Manhattan’s most mystical and intriguing building,” yet it’s familiar to hardly anyone in New York City.
The Level Club, an 18-story architectural wonder, has stood on West 73rd Street since 1927, overlooked by passersby and overshadowed by its high-profile neighbors for nearly a century. Broadway’s Beaux Arts monolith, The Ansonia Hotel, and Charles Schwab’s French Renaissance Chateau-style mansion, also on West 73rd Street, have kept the landmark on the periphery of the architectural limelight for far too long. Isn’t it about time The Level Club received a bit more attention?
Upper West Side, meet your new, old neighbor.
The best vantage point from which to enjoy The Level’s ornate exterior is from the south side of West 73rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. From there you can appreciate why the building has been called “an encyclopedia of Masonic symbols.” Linger and you will find similarities between the modern-day condominium and King Solomon’s Temple, one of the ancient world’s greatest architectural wonders. If you are truly intrigued, you can ask permission to step inside The Level’s grand lobby where you might have the opportunity to chat with doormen, porters and residents all of whom seem enchanted with the place.
The Level’s colorful past as a former Masonic clubhouse, then later a men’s hotel, then a weekly kosher hotel and, later still, a re-hab facility, is only part of its charm. Quirky, elegant apartments that can boast up to 7 levels of living space, floating staircases, rounded 12-foot windows and gargoyle views make The Level uniquely beloved among those in the know. Two residents in particular have become devoted curators of information about the historic building and its idiosyncrasies.
Bruno Bertuccioli, a passionate resident/advocate, wrote The Level Club: A New York City Story of the Twenties: Splendor, Decadence and Resurgence of a Monument to Human Ambition. For a peek at the book click here. Larry Sheir, Vice President of Corcoran Group and unofficial mayor of the building since 1984 when he became its first condominium resident, created a walking tour of the building that you can enjoy without leaving home or having to interrupt your sidewalk tasks when you do. Click here to start exploring.
So there it is neighbors…one more reason to walk heads up, eyes wide open around the lovely Upper West Side. Enjoy and please comment with your favorite overlooked or underappreciated architectural wonder.
Maria Gorshin, who runs the blog City Girl Writes, is a West Side Rag columnist and native Upper West Sider.
