Life At The Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address
by Stephen Birmingham /
2016 / English / EPUB
1.7 MB Download
Life at the Dakota
Life at the Dakotais a deliciously entertaining social history which describes
the lives of the rich and trendy who have lived at the Dakota, a
New York apartment house daringly erected in 1884, “too far up” and
on the wrong side of town.
is a deliciously entertaining social history which describes
the lives of the rich and trendy who have lived at the Dakota, a
New York apartment house daringly erected in 1884, “too far up” and
on the wrong side of town.In Stephen Birmingham’s witty chronicle, the atmosphere
of this elegant edifice is so powerful that the building itself
becomes an unforgettable major character. From its start the Dakota
has attracted a lively mix of people, from celebrities Leonard
Bernstein, Roberta Flack, and John Lennon, to a ground-floor tenant
who kept a stuffed horse in full armor in the living room, and yet
another older tenant who was spotted wandering naked through the
cellar by some workmen, mistaken for a ghost of the
building.
In Stephen Birmingham’s witty chronicle, the atmosphere
of this elegant edifice is so powerful that the building itself
becomes an unforgettable major character. From its start the Dakota
has attracted a lively mix of people, from celebrities Leonard
Bernstein, Roberta Flack, and John Lennon, to a ground-floor tenant
who kept a stuffed horse in full armor in the living room, and yet
another older tenant who was spotted wandering naked through the
cellar by some workmen, mistaken for a ghost of the
building.While detailing the active and often contentious life
within the building from the nineteenth century to the present, Mr.
Birmingham also brings to life the New York social scene and that
of other fashionable American cities. Just as the sixty-foot rooms,
the elaborate moldings and rococo ceilings are lushly described, so
is the changing atmosphere in Central Park, the smell and sound of
the street below, the judgments about what was fashionable and what
was not throughout the years. Here is a window into the marvelous
world of The Dakota and through it, the changing view of New
York.
While detailing the active and often contentious life
within the building from the nineteenth century to the present, Mr.
Birmingham also brings to life the New York social scene and that
of other fashionable American cities. Just as the sixty-foot rooms,
the elaborate moldings and rococo ceilings are lushly described, so
is the changing atmosphere in Central Park, the smell and sound of
the street below, the judgments about what was fashionable and what
was not throughout the years. Here is a window into the marvelous
world of The Dakota and through it, the changing view of New
York.
