The Ansonia, Beaux-Arts apartment building in Upper West Side, Manhattan, United States
The Ansonia is a Beaux-Arts apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, standing 18 stories tall. The exterior combines limestone, granite, and white brick, with turrets rising at the corners and light courts along the sides to bring daylight into the interior.
Paul Emile Duboy designed the structure between 1899 and 1903 for William Earle Dodge Stokes, who named it after his grandfather. It opened as a residential hotel offering long-term guests suites with hotel services and later converted to apartments.
Musicians chose to live here because the thick walls and large rooms offered good sound isolation and acoustics for practice. Tenants over the years included conductors, opera singers, and composers who appreciated the space and the quiet during the day.
The building stands at Broadway and 73rd Street, within walking distance of the 72nd Street subway station. Some units remain rent-regulated while others have been sold as condominiums, so access to the interior is limited to residents and their guests.
The rooftop once held a small farm with chickens, ducks, and goats that supplied fresh eggs and milk to residents. The structure also contained its own power plant and air-filtration system, which were unusual features for the time.
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