The Dakota, Apartment building on Central Park West, Upper West Side, Manhattan, United States
The Dakota is a nine-story building of yellow brick with grey-brown sandstone trim at its corners and window and door openings, designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh and built 1880–1884. It fills the block between 72nd and 73rd Streets around a 27 × 17 m courtyard with two bronze fountains, and its steep roof carries gables, dormers and tall chimneys. A double-height archway on 72nd Street forms the main entrance, and an Indian head relief is set above it.
Edward Clark commissioned this residential complex between 1880 and 1884, creating the first luxury apartment building on the Upper West Side when the area was sparsely developed. The name reflects how remote the location seemed at the time, as isolated as the Dakota Territory in the western United States.
Fans regularly gather outside to leave flowers and pay their respects, creating a place of pilgrimage linked to the memory of John Lennon. The Strawberry Fields memorial across the street draws visitors who often stop at the entrance before walking through Central Park.
The Dakota now holds 93 apartments, expanded after World War II when the seventh and eighth floors, once servants' quarters, and the ninth-floor roof garden and children's play area were converted into living space. The courtyard and interior are private; visitors see only the facade and the double-height arched entrance on 72nd Street from the sidewalk.
Each apartment follows a distinct floor plan with high ceilings and floors crafted from marble, mahogany, and cherry wood, reflecting the original luxury standards of the era. The architecture draws from German Renaissance style with French and English influences, giving the building a more European character than most contemporary New York constructions.
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