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The El Dorado

The El Dorado (also spelled the Eldorado) is a cooperative apartment building at 300 Central Park West, between 90th and 91st Streets adjacent to Central Park, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1929 to 1931 and was designed by architect of record Margon & Holder and consulting architect Emery Roth in the Art Deco style. The El Dorado consists of twin 12-story towers rising from a 17-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.

This article is about the apartment building in New York City. For the American doo-wop group, see The El Dorados. For other uses, see El Dorado (disambiguation).

The El Dorado

The Eldorado

Housing cooperative

Art Deco

300 Central Park West

Manhattan, New York

United States

40°47′18″N 73°58′03″W / 40.78833°N 73.96750°W / 40.78833; -73.96750

1929

1931–1932

391 ft (119 m)

Steel superstructure

29

Emery Roth

Margon & Holder

Elkay Builders Corp.

Central Park West Historic District (ID82001189[1])

1521

November 9, 1982[1]

July 9, 1985[2]

The base contains several small setbacks, and two towers rise from the eastern side of the base. On Central Park West, the first three stories are clad in cast stone, and the main entrance consists of three angular bronze archways. The remainder of the facade is made of tan and brown brick, which are arranged to emphasize the vertical lines of the facade. Some of the upper-story apartments contain angular stone balconies, and the tops of the towers are ornamented with sculpted finials. When the El Dorado opened, it contained 200 apartments with 1,500 rooms, though some apartments have since been split or combined. The main lobby is decorated in marble, and a gym in the building's two basement levels was added in the 1990s.


The El Dorado replaced a pair of apartments that were built in 1902 and also known as the El Dorado. The current apartment complex was constructed from 1929 to 1931 by developer Louis Klosk, who was unable to complete the building after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The Central Park Plaza Corporation bought the El Dorado at a foreclosure auction in 1931. The corporation was taken over by the Pick Hotels Corporation in 1943, then by Hugh K. McGovern in January 1953. The building was then sold in May 1953 to pastor Charles M. "Daddy" Grace, whose estate sold the building in 1960 to Alexander Gross. The El Dorado became a housing cooperative in July 1982, and several parts of the building were upgraded, despite disagreement among tenants.

Impact[edit]

In 1930, as the building was being completed, The New York Times wrote that "The lofty towers of the San Remo and El Dorado apartments, rising high over the park area and clearly observable from long distances, provide an object lesson of the new architectural treatment there."[108]


Architectural critic Paul Goldberger said in 1974 that the spires "are probably best described as Aztec‐modern" but that they resembled the pinnacle of the Empire State Building from a distance.[109] In 1986, Steven Ruttenbaum wrote: "The futuristic sculptural detailing of the El Dorado, as well as its geometric ornament and patterns and its contrasting materials and textures, make it one of the finest Art Deco structures in the city."[33]


In 2001, the AIA Guide to New York City likened the spires to "Flash Gordon finials".[11] In 2003, The New York Times said the presence of Central Park West's "architectural gems", such as the El Dorado, contributed to increased housing prices on the eastern side of Central Park, along Fifth Avenue.[110]


The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982.[111][31] Following the dispute over the building's windows, the LPC hosted hearings in 1984 to determine whether the Century, Majestic, San Remo, Beresford, and El Dorado should be designated as city landmarks.[82] Manhattan Community Board 7 supported all five designations. The El Dorado's residents also supported the designation of their own home, but the co-op board raised concerns over how the designation would impact window replacements.[112] The LPC designated the El Dorado as a city landmark on July 9, 1985,[83] citing its brickwork, entrances, window layouts, balconies, and "futuristic crowning pinnacles".[83] The El Dorado is also part of the Upper West Side Historic District, which became a New York City historic district in 1990.[113]

Art Deco architecture of New York City

List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets

Brockmann, Jorg; Harris, Bill (2002). . Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57912-443-4. OCLC 48619292.

One Thousand New York Buildings

(PDF) (Report). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. November 9, 1982.

Central Park West Historic District

(PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. April 24, 1990.

Central Park West Historic District

(PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. July 9, 1985.

Eldorado Apartments

Mason, Christopher (September 2, 1996). . New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. ISSN 0028-7369.

"West of Eden"

Robins, Anthony W. (2017). . Excelsior Editions. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-6396-4. OCLC 953576510.

New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham's Jazz Age Architecture

Ruttenbaum, Steven (1986). . Balsam Press. ISBN 978-0-917439-09-4. OCLC 13665931.

Mansions in the Clouds: The Skyscraper Palazzi of Emery Roth

Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Patrick; Mellins, Thomas (1987). . New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-3096-1. OCLC 13860977.

New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars

at New York Architecture Images

The Eldorado