Central Park Gardens (New York City, New York)

 apartment building, 1969_construction, Modern (architecture)

155-foot, 14-story mid-century modern residential building completed in 1969. Designed by Seymour R. Joseph, the very long, narrow building is clad in beige brick. The main entrance is located at the center of the symmetrical north facade, atop a set of steps, with glass double-doors framed by stone piers. On either side of the steps is a brick wall topped by metal railings, enclosing the long, narrow, raised space in front of the ground floor. The center area of the facade is recessed from the east and west sides, and has a band of five windows on either side of the entry, with a metal service door at the west end of the center section. The rest of the ground floor is also recessed below the upper floors which are supported by narrow concrete piers. Most of the ground floor contains community spaces as well as commercial offices, with a mixture of single-windows, secondary entrances, metal service doors, and vents.

The upper floors at the recessed middle section have a central double-window, flanked by a single-window, a triple-window with the inner pane replaced by a glass door, and double-window, all fronted by slightly-projecting dark-grey concrete balconies with metal railings. To either side the north facade has two single-window bays flanking a double-window, a triple-window bay fronted by farther-projecting balconies (beginning at the 4th floor), four double-windows, another triple-window bay with balconies, a single-window bay, two double-window bays, and a recessed end bay of double-windows next to glass doors that are also fronted by slightly-projecting balconies. All of the windows have aluminum framing, and a metal railing tops the roof line.

The narrower east and west facades have a bay of triple-windows at the south end, followed by two single-windows. The rear, south-facing facade is similar to the north facade, but with the recessed center section have two smaller balconies at each end instead of one wider span. There are two mechanical penthouses on the roof, and a brick water tower enclosure in between.

The building contains 243 apartment units. Part of the ground floor is occupied by Smiles on the Upper West Side dental offices.