The skyline of Manhattan has been radically changed in the past decade with the addition of several “supertall” residential buildings along the 57th Street corridor. I wrote a few years ago about what it was like to be in Steinway Tower, aka 111 West 57th Street when it was being completed (read it HERE). Steinway Tower is the building that tapers dramatically at the top, and the views were astonishing. However, even at that time another building was reaching toward the sky, even higher – and recently I was able to visit Central Park Tower (217 West 57th Street). To my amazement, I was able to look down upon the top of Steinway Tower!
The day I was able to visit Central Park Tower started out foggy, and as I headed toward the building, through Central Park, I realized that I could not even see the top of the building (see above). Note in this picture that 157 West 57th (One 57), which was the first of the supertalls, looks practically diminutive with Central Park Tower looming to the right in the photo, disappearing into the clouds. Also note that Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South, at 952 feet or 290 meters, stands just in front but significantly lower than Central Park Tower, but is of a more traditional limestone style (and 220 CPS stands in a league of its own in terms of price per square foot). Due to the use of a cantilever at Central Park Tower, the lower floors do not have views obstructed by 220 Central Park South.
The entrance of the building on West 57th Street leads to a stylish lobby. The building was built partially on a cantilever to avoid demolition of the Arts Students League building, which is landmarked, and the Nordstrom department store sits just below it on West 57th (for this reason, early on the building was often called “Nordstrom Tower”). Central Park Tower holds the Guinness World Record for being the tallest cantilevered building in the world.
First stop was the residents’ club, on the 100th Floor! Marketed as the highest private club in the world, the club includes a 126-person ballroom, a private dining room, an Art Deco lounge, and a cigar bar. When first arriving there, we were still sitting in the clouds, but fortunately it began to clear up before I had a chance to visit the full-floor home on the 126th floor. Note that at the club you can see Steinway Tower to the east at about the same level as its top floors, and that the view of Central Park is also similar to that seen on the highest floors at Steinway Tower.
I was able to tour the apartment taking up the entire 126th floor, which is the highest full-floor home before getting to the two highest units: a duplex on floors 127-128, and the penthouse triplex on floors 129-131. These top two apartments have their own elevators, by the way! Let’s think about how tall this building actually is. It is the second tallest building in New York City at 1,550 feet or 472 meters, but the highest habitable floor (1,417 feet or 432 meters high) is actually higher than the observation deck at One World Trade, the tallest building. Central Park Tower is the highest fully residential building in the world (Burj Khalifa is taller, but is mixed-use). It is the second highest building not only in New York City, but in the entire Western Hemisphere. Being in 126, the feeling of experiencing views generally only experienced in an airplane is palpable. I definitely felt I was looking down on the top of Steinway Tower, and visualizing the entire span of Central Park was not only easy, but the park looked small from this height.
Apartment 126 had been staged, and has five bedrooms. Views stretch in every direction – north to see all of Central Park and beyond, west to the Hudson River and New Jersey, south over skyline views all the way to New York Harbor, and east over other supertalls and to the East River and on to Brooklyn and Queens.
Bathrooms are extraordinary, including this tub overlooking the Hudson River.
I want to point out how high the ceilings are, as well, giving even more emphasis to the overall impression of height. Having floor to ceiling windows allows for the spectacular views to dominate every room. On my Instagram, I posted a few videos of being in the space (see this one of the views from a home office, and this one of what it was like to ride down in the elevator!). The elevators go 2000 feet per second, and you can definitely feel it (and your ears feel the change in pressure).
These supertall buildings (many often called “:pencil skyscrapers” these days because of their slender shape and lofty height) are polarizing, to be sure. But I can’t imagine looking at them and not at least wondering what it is like to be at or near the top of them. Extraordinary views like this are why people pay to go to observation towers, and to imagine living at such a height is unimaginable for most. I feel privileged to be able to see the interiors of these singular buildings through my profession as a real estate agent, and to live and work in such an exceptional city.
