Customer Reviews

New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments: With Original Floor Plans from the Dakota, River House, Olympic Tower and Other Great Buildings

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Originally published under the title 'Apartments for the Affluent,' this book is aimed at a very narrow audience indeed. Alpern takes us through 75 luxury Manhattan apartment houses in chronological order, from 1869 to 1974. Each building has a full-page b&w photograph, a diagram of a typical floor plan, and a quarter-page-or-so description. Alpern explains the reasoning behind the various room arrangements, and how that reasoning evolved over the years. I enjoyed this book immensely, but it's not for everyone. If you ever walked by an older high-rise apartment building and wondered how the rooms were arranged and why, this slender volume will fascinate you. Otherwise, you may prefer a book that's a more general survey of the topic (including some by the same author).

This book is a must have for any fan of architecture. A glimps into some of the most amazing buildings, complete with floorplans! My personal favorites: The Langham, 1107 Fifth Ave, 960 Fifth Ave, 625 Park Ave, River House and my ultimate favorite, the late great 410 Park Ave. I am so glad I discovered this book.

Finally I got a hold of this book! Great floor plans; but as usual, I would have liked more interior pics (hardly any).

This book provides a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era that actually lasted only a few decades, from say the 1890's to the 1930's.

This work is thoroughly enjoyable though somewhat demanding since it is essentially made up of not-so-large scale floor plans with only short written introductions. One is left to imagine the residents' lives before the Depression, with live-in servants and frequent parties, as well as their rather sudden demise that led to most apartments being broken up in the following decade into two, three or even four distinct units. Many buildings were actually completely gutted and some demolished.

A few floor plans of 1960's buildings are included however and comments provided have become quaint in their naïve appreciation of modernism.

Given the abundance of illustrations and the enormous research that was certainly required, this book is an incredible bargain at the price asked. It is very strongly recommended to anyone interested in New York and its way of life.

If you live in New York City, this is a great book to see what the building "insides" look like. Although I don't live there, I still enjoyed seeing the floor plans and getting a very brief descriptive of each building. Just a fun book to look at and imagine yourself living in one of the more grand one-floor coops or condos. Fun to dream! The only downside is that some of the floor plans were so small that I needed a magnifying glass to identify the room layout.

This book provides excellent descriptions and floor plans of many of New York's finest apartments. It proved to be a great guide book on a recent trip to the city.

Okay, so I didn't purchase "New York's Fabulous Luxury Apartments" with the slightest notion that I would ever be in the market, let alone reside in, any one of this book's featured "apartments" (I still have a hard time referring to these dwellings as "apartments" - hardly are these the places that come to mind which feature a broiler pan in the oven and free heat). The description mentioned that floor plans are included, and that is what sold me. I've always had an odd fascination for how those high-priced, high-rise New York apartment buildings featured in the back of the NY Times Sunday magazine were laid out, and this book delivers. While all the photos are in black and white - which is understandable, given that many of the structures were demolished long ago and that the book's print date is 1974 - if floor plans are your thing, this book was written for you. An added nicety is that plans for all levels are provided in the instance of a duplex or triplex unit, rather than just those for the main floor.

I purchased this book hoping to learn more about the building where my father grew up. Unfortunately, there were no interior shots of his building nor many of the buildings in the book. Hoped to have a lengthier description of the building's interior and exterior as well. This book briefly touches on each of the buildings mentioned rather than going into any significant depth on any of the buildings.

Andrew Alpern's magnificent book, BEW YORK'S FABULOUS LUXURT APARTMENTS: WITH ORIGINAL FLOOR PLANS FROM TEH DAKOTA, RIVER HOUSE, OLYMPIC TOWER AND OTHER GREAT BUILDINGS, is one of those very rare books that is the "REAL Deal"! This means that it is EXACTLY what it purports to be -- page after page shows wonderful, luxurious floorplans, from wonderful, luxurious buildings, in one of the world's most, (if you have the money), luxurious and wonderful cities!

Of course, not every luxury building is presented, and some of the illustrations, though full-page illustrations, do seem a bit cramped -- because they show so much!

Many, (but not, thankfully, all), of these buildings have been, em..."changed" through the years. Some have simply been upgraded to allow for modern conveniences. Others, (unfortunately), have had their super-luxury apartments sub-divided into mere luxury apartments -- or worse, into quite ordinary dwellings. The text of this book shows that the author is just as upset and disappointed at these sub-divisions as most of his readers must be. (Thanks, Mr. Alpern! It's good to know someone else cares, as well! :_)

This aside, (and one can always have those pages with floorplans that seem cramped, enlarged at your local copy-shop!), this book is a true treasure, for anyone who studies or admires fine architecture, longs for luxury -- and/or who needs constant inspiration that one's talents WILL take one to the stars, (or at least to the HEIGHTS of the great apartment buldings of New York!), THIS is the book you need!

Even if you don't feel some of the illustrations are cramped, have them enlarged, and copied anyway. Then put them on the walls of your 180 square-foot apartment-- and start dreaming.............AND DOING!