The Dakota
The Dakota (also known as Dakota Apartments) is a cooperative apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was built between 1880 and 1884,[3] and is famous as the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 to 1980, as well as the location of his murder.[4] The Dakota is considered to be one of Manhattan's most prestigious and exclusive cooperative residential buildings, with apartments generally selling for between $4 million and $30 million.
History[edit]
The Dakota was constructed between October 25, 1880 and October 27, 1884.[3][5] The architectural firm of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh was commissioned to create the design for Edward Clark, head of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The firm also designed the Plaza Hotel.[6]
The Dakota was purportedly so named because at the time of construction, the Upper West Side of Manhattan was sparsely inhabited and considered as remote in relation to the inhabited area of Manhattan as the Dakota Territory was. However, the earliest recorded appearance of this account is in a 1933 newspaper interview with the Dakota's long-time manager, quoted in Christopher Gray's book New York Streetscapes: "Probably it was called 'Dakota' because it was so far west and so far north". According to Gray, it is more likely that the building was named the Dakota because of Clark's fondness for the names of the new western states and territories.[7]
The Dakota was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969.[8] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972,[1] and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[2][9]
The Dakota was the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 until his murder. On the night of December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the Dakota's 72nd Street entryway as the singer was returning home from a recording session. Lennon was pronounced dead upon arrival at nearby Roosevelt Hospital. As of 2010[update], Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, still has several apartments in the building. The Strawberry Fields memorial was laid out in memory of Lennon in Central Park directly across Central Park West.