Hotel des Artistes


Hotel des Artistes is a historic residential building located at 1 West 67th Street, near Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1917, the ornate 17-story, 119-unit Gothic-style building has been home to a long list of writers, artists, and politicians over the years.

History

In 1914, a group of artists—including Walter Russell, Frank DuMond, Willard Metcalf, and Penrhyn Stanlaws—paid $250,000 to buy a parcel of land on the west side of Central Park with the plans of building Hotel des Artistes. At the outset, they planned to erect a 20-story building where 10 stories would be dedicated to artists' studio space and the other 10 would be dedicated to apartments.
Designed by George Mort Pollard, when it opened in 1917, the Hotel des Artistes boasted a large swimming pool, grand ballrooms, rooftop squash courts, a gym, and a restaurant. Apartments had as many as six rooms apiece, and many of the units featured 20-foot lofted ceilings. Kitchens were small, as tenants were able to use their dumbwaiters to receive meals prepared in a kitchen on the second floor. The building is also noted for its pastoral floor-to-ceiling paintings by Howard Chandler Christy, one of its earliest residents.
In 1970, the building transformed into a full co-operative after a new owner purchased it. Several longtime tenants were evicted after a lengthy court battle.
In 1975, violinist turned restaurateur George Lang took over the run-down ground-floor cafe and renovated it, bringing in new diners. Lang and his wife Gloria ran Cafe des Artistes until 2009, when they decided to close it during the recession. In 2011, it reopened under new management as the Leopard at des Artistes.

Notable residents