The San Remo

The San Remo
View from the southeast
General information
Type	Housing cooperative
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival
Address	145–146 Central Park West
Town or city	Manhattan, New York
Country	United States
Coordinates	40°46′41″N 73°58′30″W / 40.77806°N 73.97500°W / 40.77806; -73.97500
Construction started	1929
Completed	September 21, 1930
Height	400 ft (120 m)
Technical details
Structural system	Steel superstructure
Floor count	27
Lifts/elevators	10
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Emery Roth
Main contractor	HRH Construction
New York City Landmark
Designated	March 31, 1987[1]
Reference no.	1519
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Designated	November 9, 1982[2]
Reference no.	82001189

The San Remo is a cooperative apartment building at 145 and 146 Central Park West, between 74th and 75th Streets, adjacent to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1929 to 1930 and was designed by architect Emery Roth in the Renaissance Revival style. The San Remo is 27 stories tall, with twin 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.

The 17-story base surrounds an internal courtyard to the west, while the 10-story towers rise from the eastern portion of the base. There are numerous setbacks between the 14th and 17th stories, which double as terraces. The first three stories are clad in rusticated blocks of limestone, with two main entrances at ground level. The remainder of the facade is made of light brick with terracotta ornamentation, as well as movable windows to improve air circulation. The tops of the towers contain "temples" with round colonnades and lanterns. The building has twin terrazzo and marble lobbies with molded plaster ceilings. On the upper stories, many apartments contain living and dining rooms arranged around a central gallery, as well as bedrooms in the rear. There were originally 122 apartments, each with six to sixteen rooms, but several apartments have been split or combined over the years.

The San Remo replaced an 11-story apartment building with the same name, built in 1891. The current apartment complex was the first building on Central Park West to incorporate large twin towers. The building opened in September 1930, attracting large amounts of commentary from the media. It soon went into receivership following the collapse of the Bank of United States, which held the mortgage. The San Remo experienced financial difficulties throughout much of the 1930s before being acquired in 1940 by an investment syndicate. The building was converted to a housing cooperative in 1972 following a failed conversion attempt in 1970. Over the years, the San Remo has been renovated several times. Its residents have included directors, actors, and musicians.