By Gus Saltonstall
Leonard Bernstein is back in the news with the recent release of the film “Maestro,” the Netflix biopic about the legendary conductor and composer. Many know about Bernstein’s triumphs, which include creating the Broadway musical “West Side Story,” and serving as the first American composer to lead a major U.S. orchestra, but few may know that Bernstein spent a good part of his life living in the Upper West Side’s most famous building.
Bernstein lived in Apartment 23 of the Dakota, sometimes called the Dakota Apartments, on the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West from 1975 until his death in 1990. The iconic composer died in the Upper West Side apartment on October 14, 1990, of a heart attack
The second-floor apartment contained four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a library, a fireplace, and of course, views of Central Park.
The apartment would go on to sell for $21 million in 1997, which remained the Dakota’s most expensive sale until at least 2012, according to CNBC.
“Maestro” had a limited theater release on November 22, but had a wider release December 20 on Netflix. The film is written, directed and stars Bradley Cooper as Bernstein, who received pushback earlier this fall about his choice to wear a “prominent” prosthetic nose to portray the Jewish composer.
Bernstein’s three children responded by releasing a statement in support of Cooper.
Bernstein’s second-floor Dakota apartment is recreated in the film, and the publication Town & Country recently conducted a stellar interview with production designer Kevin Thompson about how he reproduced the home for the big screen.
“It was an important set for me because, as a New Yorker who has been here since the early 80s, it meant a lot to me that they lived in the Dakota,” Thompson told Town & Country.
To help with the task, the current owners of the Dakota apartment granted access to the film’s production team.
You can read the full interview on how Thompson went about bringing “Bernstein’s slice of the Dakota back to life” — HERE.
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The real secret of the Dakota is the single rooms or small apartments in the attic that were created for servants. I almost got a chance to live in one.
Leonard Bernstein purchased such a unit why also buying his family’s main residence.
Back in 1997 when Bernstein estate sold the grand second floor apartments (to an insider for $4 million), the smaller one bedroom unit on top floors was sold to the late Mr. Gil Shiva. Both men used said apartment as a studio.
Now that would be nyc living.
Rex Reed nabbed one of those “attic” apartments back in 1969. He paid $30k for it then and it’s worth vastly more today.
Need a similar bio oof John Lennon in the Dakota!
I believe you have left out the important point that the apartment in Dakota was also home for several years of Mr. Bernstein’s wife, the actress Felicia María Cohn Montealegre,
Didn’t see the movie, did you? It’s all about their marriage.
The actors were wonderful but the story seemed disjointed and Bernstein mostly charming but unlikeable….which seems to have been like their life. The daughters have said it is very accurate. Felicia seemed quite accepting for the times and allowed for anything if it was discreet.
Felicia Montealegre was under no illusions and new what she was getting when marrying L.B.
“Jamie shared that her mother wrote a letter to her father shortly after their wedding. In it, she said, “I’m willing to accept you as you are without being a martyr and sacrificing myself on the L.B. altar,” regarding Leonard’s affairs…”
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/relationships/a45908499/leonard-bernstein-felicia-montealegre-relationship-timeline-maestro/
What made me think that it was his actual apartment in the movie was the accurate view from the window of the Langham apartment building across 73rd St.
All are familiar with the Dakota from “Rosemary’s Baby” and John Lennon. I got the chills when I attended a cocktail party there in the late 1990s. Who knows why it was named “the Dakota”?
There’s a book about the Dakota that addresses this question and has a bunch of other interesting details about the building and it’s history:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087JS2XB5
Most agree developer of the Dakota apartments, Mr. Edward Cabot Clark chose name out of fondness for areas of “wild west”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota#Development
Because at the time it was built, that part of Manhattan was very undeveloped, the in-jest equivalent of North or South Dakota to someone on the East coast. Will always be one of my favorite buildings in the city, immortalized in ambience and UWS creepy quirkiness in Rosemary’s Baby (my all time favorite movie!).
It was called the Dakota because when it was built, it was far away from the other New York neighborhoods.
Everything Bradley did to make this movie come alive is nothing less than genius! From the start to finish it was just an excellent film with amazing actors. Love every bit of it!
The opening credits and intro to the 1960’s film Rosemary’s Baby enjoyably relates the best feel of real Dakota pre gentrification upgrade; the condition it was in when one of us w the right could have snagged a flat
The best Dakota apt: Ward Bennett’s attic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHEzQrPitTM
Ha! When I was watching the film and saw the scenes in the apartment (or the facsimile) I totally got Rosemary’s Baby vibes. I also appreciated the Snoopy/Thanksgiving Day Parade scene, which would be visible like that from the second floor.
The daughters claim the Snoopy scenr is legit. It was a great piece of comic irony
If I’m not mistaken when the Dakota first opened they kept chickens on the roof so tenants would have fresh eggs every morning.
for sure, that happened at The Ansonia. i believe they also kept a cow.
Prior to the Dakota Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein lived across Central Park at 895 Park Ave at 79th street.
It was at that address in 1970 that the Bernsteins hosted a fundraiser for Black Panther Movement.
Some people were not amused!
https://nypost.com/2021/06/07/leonard-bernsteins-radical-chic-spread-flips-with-29-5m-ask/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/realestate/leonard-bernstein-penthouse-for-sale.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3dWyNLc1rMqSnXytbgwhjnh/when-leonard-bernstein-partied-with-the-black-panthers
Mr. Tom Wolfe famously satirized the event in his “Radical Chic” article that appeared in New York Magazine. Now it was Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein who are not amused.
https://nymag.com/article/tom-wolfe-radical-chic-that-party-at-lennys.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leonard-bernstein-black-panthers_b_59e6c200e4b08f9f9edb7b11
There were protests and noise in media along with picket lines out front of 829 Park Avenue. For whatever reasons by 1975 the Bernsteins packed up and moved across the park to the Dakota.
Leonard Bernstein purchased two apartments at the Dakota. Main residence and also a one bedroom on top floor that was used as a studio. These upper floor apartments are cobbled together from former servants quarters and laundry facilities. They are only available to purchase by current shareholders of Dakota, not outsiders.
It’s incredible how many men died of heart attacks before awareness about cardiac disease and statins and other improvements.
In Interpretation of Dreams (1899), Freud wrote that the 52nd year is a year of great danger for many men. Gustav Mahler was one who died at 51. I had a friend who had a massive heart attack at that age, a lifelong smoker and drinker and overweight. Yes, many advances in cardiac awareness even since the 1980s.
Bernstein actually developed emphysema in his 50’s. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who saw the movie. He was constantly smoking. Even when his wife had cancer but she didn’t object as a smoker herself
A very different world
Sadly Mr. Bernstein was one of those person so addicted to smoking he continued even after fully being made aware it was literally killing him.
Leonard Bernstein was diagnosed with emphysema when in his middle 20’s. He was told then if didn’t lay off smoking he’d be dead by 25. At 72 when Mr. Bernstein retired from conducting he had a long four pack a day habit and by his reasoning had long outlived odds physicians laid down decades before.
In the end Mr. Bernstein died of a heart attack brought on by ”progressive emphysema complicated by a pleural tumor and a series of pulmonary infections,”
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/16/arts/the-last-days-of-leonard-bernstein.html
https://www.baltimoresun.com/1990/10/10/leonard-bernstein-retires-as-orchestral-conductor/
It’s like the “bacon story” from Grumpier Old Men I suppose…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u05gAMMazWY
While those involved with making film “Maestro” may have been given access to Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein’s apartment, the Dakota board long since as made filming on location verboten.
Rosemary’s Baby may have put the Dakota on map far as world is concerned, but that fame has come at a cost for residents of building.
Throngs of sightseers and others constantly stop in front of gates of the Dakota taking pictures, engaging staff in conversation, asking questions… All that traffic not only often impedes residents and or their guests from entering and leaving building, it also takes up staff time.
Leaving aside inconvenience film crews often cause there is also question of damage to property. That and or often apartments or other spaces need to be modified to accommodate equipment or whatever.
That Rosemary’s Baby shipped sailed when John Lennon was killed. The devils in the railing are photographed every day.
Throngs of sightseers and others constantly stopping in front of gates of the Dakota has nothing to do with Rosemary’s Baby–it is because of the tragedy that occurred at that exact spot on December 8, 1980.
Mr. Edward Clark was a very busy developer on UWS. He purchased large tracts of (largely vacant) land on 73rd between CPW (then still 8th avenue) and Columbus along with more parcels between Columbus and Amsterdam There he built rowhouses on spec which were designed to bring in income rather than be sold.
Rowhouses on 73rd directly behind the Dakota originally received electricity from same power house that supplied apartment building. Water came from an artesian well in area.
Clark family also owned lot facing CPW between 73rd and 74th (Edward Clark died before the Dakota was completed), and for years tried to sell of those plots. However their insistence on restricting height (by deed) so whatever was built could not be higher than the Dakota dampened interest. Once that insistence was lifted said lots were sold and the magnificent Langham apartments were built.
https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-1907-langham-apartments-no-135.html
Rear yard of the Dakota (facing west on other side of what is now a driveway), sat empty until 1960. Having been used at various times as a garden for Dakota residents by 1950 or so it was used as a parking lot.
R.E. developer paid $4.6 million for the Dakota apartments on West 72d Street and for an adjoining lot. He promptly sold the apartment building to residents of the Dakota and developed the Mayfair apartments on empty land (parking lot).
Developers of 15 West 72nd (the Mayfair Towers) did shareholders of the Dakota apartments a huge favor with design of their building.
In part due to driveway that extends to W 73rd street, and large parking garage that’s part of 15 West 72nd building does not extend to full lot line. This meant apartments in the Dakota facing west need not worry about losing lot line views (such as they are).
More importantly that large gap between buildings allows greater amount of air to circulate which helps west facing apartments. There is also potential for more sunlight as well.
Dakota apartments are forbidden to install through wall air conditioners. Late Ms. Lauren Bacall got around that, but when sold apartment had to have AC removed and things restored to original condition.
https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/31/archives/the-dakota-bans-some-cooling-units.html
Of Clark’s developments nearby, a notable one is the building on the NW corner of Columbus and 73rd Street, as its architect was Henry Hardenbergh, who designed The Dakota.
Minor correction to your comment: Columbus Avenue is the extension of 9th Avenue.
Presume you mean Nos. 280-284 Columbus Avenue. This was one of early collaborations between Edward C. Clark and Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. It was completed a few years before the Dakota Flats apartments.
You can see from image in link just how desolate UWS was at that time. Image also shows ground was still being excavated for the Dakota apartments while 280-284 Columbus was already up and rented out.
https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/12/h-j-hardenberghs-280-284-columbus-avenue.html
Only 101 and 103 remain of the rowhouses Clark built on 73rd between Columbus and Amsterdam. Several were torn down to build 105 and 115 West 73rd.
I have a copy of Architectural Digest which spotlight Bernstein’s Dakota apartment. Stunning! Some ‘busy’ rooms, but I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Lets not forget that pop Icon is Roberta Flack resides at the Dakota as well. I’ve been fortunate enough to make it thru the main gate .
Ms. Flack put her Dakota apartment up for sale back in 2015 with an asking price of $9.5 million. It didn’t move and Ms. Flack took it off market only to relist in 2016 for $7.5 million. Didn’t sell then either.
Third time was charm when Ms. Flack finally unloaded her apartment at Dakota for $5.9 million in 2018.
As often happens with Dakota sales persons who bought Ms. Flack’s apartment also purchased adjoining unit. Their intention was to restore original floorplan before the one apartment was divided into two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0fH3erVOgU
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/8/16863324/roberta-flack-dakota-co-op-apartment-for-sale
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/roberta-flacks-apartment-in-the-dakota-is-for-sale
As originally built the Dakota Flats apartments had about 65 apartments. As of 2017 there were about 94 units.
In common with many pre-war buildings those grand huge apartments no longer suited how families lived say post WWI or WWII, and building needed revenue. Thus large apartments were chopped up into smaller units.
In film “Rosemary’s Baby” Mr. and Mrs. Guy Woodhouse can easily hear activities of their neighbors Minnie and Roman Castevet, through a linen closet. In fact previous resident of their unit moved a large piece of furniture in front of said closet to block it.
When large units in the Dakota apartments were broken up usual way was to wall off a corridor. Usually a closet was made on one or both sides of former hallway.
As fortunes of New York city, the UWS and Dakota apartments improved post 1980’s or so people have a desire restore original floorplans creating grand apartments once more. This is why you often hear about sales of adjoining apartments. It also explains why some smaller units either don’t sell, or languish on market. Because they were carved out of larger units many smaller apartments have awkward floorplans that don’t flow as intended.