Upper West Side Landmarks and Historic Districts
Upper West Side Landmarks and Historic Districts
Click on the markers to learn more about Individual Landmarks (yellow) and sites on LW’s Wish List of landmark designation priorities (red).
Historic Districts are marked by the shaded areas on the map (lighter areas indicate buildings calendared and heard by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, but not designated). Zoom in for more detail. Click on the shaded areas to see Historic District names, and scroll down for more information on each.
There are ten Historic Districts and three Historic District Extensions on the Upper West Side
According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Historic Districts are “areas of the City that possess architectural and historical significance and a distinct ‘sense of place'”. Some of the Historic Districts listed below include Individual Landmarks. After each description, click the color-coded button to link to the full text of the associated designation report.
Central Park West – 76th Street Historic District
Established 1973
This was one of the first areas of the Upper West Side to receive landmark protection. Rowhouse construction began on 76th Street in 1887; by 1900, 44 had been built in the district. The district retains examples of four building types common to the Upper West Side at the turn of the century: a Beaux-Arts style apartment house, the Kenilworth (1906-08) at 151 Central Park West; the Neo-Gothic Church of the Divine Paternity (now Fourth Universalist Society, 1897-98) at 160 Central Park West; the Classical Revival New-York Historical Society (1903-08 & 1937-38) at 170 Central Park West; and an artist’s residence, the Studio Building (1907-09) at 44 West 77th Street. This new building form consisted of two-story artist’s studios and residential units.
The Boundaries of the Central Park West-76th Street Historic District are: Central Park West West Side: 151-170; West 76th Street North Side: 1-51 and South Side: 2-56; West 77th Street South Side: 44-48
Riverside Drive — West 105th Street Historic District
Established 1973
This small district consists of residences erected between 1899-1902. The cohesiveness of the district’s rowhouses and townhouses is due to the brief construction span; the use of English basements and common materials, predominantly limestone; the exuberant Beaux-Arts detail; and restrictive covenants. These covenants, requiring buildings of “suitable character” to benefit the neighborhood, limited construction to single-family houses and encouraged the use of architectural detail and high-quality materials.
The boundaries of the Riverside Drive–West 105th Street Historic District are: West 105th Street North Side: 301-321 and South Side: 302-320; West 106th Street South Side: 322
Central Park West — West 73rd-74th Streets Historic District
Established 1977
This block contains some of the finest residential design on the Upper West Side. The earliest buildings in the district are 18 rowhouses on 73rd St., which survive from a row of 28 designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh in 188285 for Edward Clark. Their style is compatible with the nearby Dakota Apartments (1880-84), also designed by Hardenbergh for Clark. Clark’s grandson developed much of 74th St. (1902-1904) with a long row of Neo-Georgian houses. In 1902, the Clarks sold the Central Park West frontage, and the elegant Beaux-Arts detailed Langham Apartments (1904-07) was erected.
The boundaries of the Central Park West–W. 73rd-74th Streets Historic District are: Central Park West West Side: 135; Columbus Avenue East Side: 261-275; West 73rd Street North Side: 1-67; West 74th Street South Side: 2-54
West End-Collegiate Historic District
Established 1984, Extended 2013
Named for the nearby West End Collegiate Church at 77th Street and West End Ave., this district consists primarily of speculative rowhouses built in the last 15 years of the 19th century by some of the city’s most talented rowhouse architects, including C.P.H. Gilbert, Lamb & Rich, and Clarence True. They created blocks with a blend of Italian, French, Flemish Renaissance, and other stylistic forms. In the first decades of the 20th century, several apartment houses were built in the district, reflecting the decline in rowhouse construction as land values rose and apartment living became socially acceptable for affluent New Yorkers.
The boundaries of West End–Collegiate Historic District are: Riverside Drive East Side: 22-46; West End Avenue East Side: 340-358 and West Side: 325-389; West 74th Street North Side: 303 – 323; West 75th Street North Side: 301-329 and South Side: 316-322; West 76th Street North Side: 243-337 and South Side: 300-330; West 77th Street North Side: 301-321 and South Side: 262-338; West 78th Street North Side: 303-315 and South Side: 302-322
Riverside Drive — West 80th-81st Streets Historic District
Established 1985
This district illustrates the early residential development of the West End section. In 1891, Charles Israels designed a row of five houses for 81st Street in a style combining Romanesque Revival and Neo-Renaissance elements. In 1892, he designed a row for 80th Street. At the end of the 1890’s, another wave of rowhouse construction came with architect/developer Clarence True, in several grand townhouses on and adjacent to Riverside Drive. Around the same time, three modest French flats went up on 80th Street. In 1926, one of True’s houses was replaced by a 16-story Neo-Classical apartment building.
The boundaries of the Riverside Drive-W. 80th-81st Streets Historic District are: Riverside Drive East Side: 74-86; West 80th Street North Side: 303-323 and South Side: 306-326; West 81st Street South Side: 304-320
Riverside–West End Historic District
Established 1989, Extended 2012 & 2015
This district evokes the distinctive qualities of the Upper West Side, from its powerful iconography of twin towers along Central Park West to its active commercial avenues and residential side streets. It is defined by a large concentration of architecturally significant buildings erected between the opening of the Ninth Avenue Elevated in 1879 (along what is now Columbus Ave.) and the Great Depression. During this period of rampant speculative development, hundreds of rowhouses, French flats, and tenements were constructed. A few grand apartment houses were built early in this period, but most date to the turn of the century with the great Beaux-Arts buildings. In the 1920’s and into the early 1930’s, many large apartment houses and apartment hotels were built. Through this entire span of development, important institutions–museums, churches, and synagogues–made their way into the residential mix.
The boundaries of the Riverside-West End Historic District and Extensions are: Riverside Drive East Side: 130-227; West End Avenue East Side: 560-698 and West Side: 561-697; West 87th Street North Side: 277-355 and South Side: 302-346; West 88th Street North Side: 257-355 and South Side: 254-350; West 89th Street North Side: 275-347 and South Side: 262-348; West 90th Street North Side: 259-325 and South Side: 272-326; West 91st Street North Side: 253-315 and South Side: 258-320; West 92nd Street North Side: 257-321 and South Side: 254-314; West 93rd Street North Side: 253-325 and South Side: 254-316; West 94th Street North Side: 321 and South Side: 276-300, 316
West 71st Street Historic District
Established 1989
This small district sitting on a quiet cul-de-sac features 33 rowhouses built in six groups between 1893 and 1896, a single townhouse (1903-04), and an apartment building (1924). The block’s cohesive quality comes from the uniform use of Renaissance-inspired detail on the rowhouses.
The boundaries of the West 71st Street Historic District are: West 71st Street North Side: 305-351 and South Side: 310-340.
Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District
Established 1990
This district evokes the distinctive qualities of the Upper West Side, from its powerful iconography of twin towers along Central Park West to its active commercial avenues and residential side streets. It is defined by a large concentration of architecturally significant buildings erected between the opening of the Ninth Ave. Elevated in 1879 (along what is now Columbus Ave.) and the Great Depression. During this period of rampant speculative development, hundreds of rowhouses, French flats, and tenements were constructed. A few grand apartment houses were built early in this period, but most date to the turn of the century with the great Beaux-Arts buildings. In the 1920s and into the early 1930s, many large apartment houses and apartment hotels were built. Through this entire span of development, important institutions–museums, churches and synagogues–made their way into the residential mix.
See map for boundaries. View photographs from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Report Volume IVa and Volume IVb
Manhattan Avenue Historic District
Established 2006
The 40 buildings in this picturesque district were mainly constructed between 1886 and 1889. Unlike many of Manhattan’s earlier rowhouses, which were primarily built with brownstone facades in the classical style, here the structures combine Gothic, Queen Anne, and Romanesque features. Also included in the district are a dormitory (now a youth hostel at 3-36 W. 106th St.) and an X-ray laboratory (19-37 W. 105th St.) that were part of the former New York Cancer Hospital complex (an Individual Landmark on Central Park West between 105th and 106th Streets).
The boundaries of the Manhattan Avenue Historic District are: Manhattan Avenue East Side: 120-140 and West Side: 101-137; West 104th Street North Side: 51; West 105th Street North Side: 19-51; and West 106th Street South Side: 34-44.
Morningside Heights Historic District
Established 2017
Of the approximately 115 residential and institutional buildings included in this district (stretching up to 119th Street), 12 are technically in the UWS (below 110th Street). Together, this ensemble represents the area’s rapid transformation into the “acropolis” of New York City that started in the 1890’s with the construction of the Columbia University and Cathedral of St. John the Divine campuses, followed later by high-end residential developments.
Learn more about any UWS landmarked building
on LW’s Building Database!
