This is the first part in a two-part series on Rosario Candela.
In the background of Central Park, famed apartment buildings line the avenues. These buildings have long been envied by New Yorkers for their park views and fabulous floorplans. Although there are many magnificent structures, one architect's vision has stood the test of time. Rosario Candela designed luxury apartments with large flowing rooms, wood-burning fireplaces, and walnut-paneled rooms that today sell for millions. His name is a famous calling call for realtors, evoking the gracious apartment living of the past.
Rosario Candela immigrated from Italy at the turn of the century. He was accepted at Columbia University. Candela was so immensely talented that he put velvet ropes around his draft board so other students couldn't steal his ideas.* After graduating in 1915, he worked for a series of architects. In 1920, he started his firm. His first commission was for a residential building This commission would launch an astonishing collection of work. Here are just a few examples of his buildings:
740 Park Avenue
1 Sutton Place South
133 East 80th Street
960 Fifth Avenue
Candela designed thoughtful and sumptuous apartments that attracted the wealthy. Many famous people lived (and still do today) in his buildings. Jackie Kennedy Onassis lived at 740 Park Avenue as a child and later at 1040 Fifth Avenue as an adult.
During the Great Depression, Candela's building commissions began to decline. Besides his unparalleled skills in architecture, he was fascinated with cryptography. To no surprise, Candela excelled at this too. He wrote two books on cryptography (one in 1938 and the other in 1946) and later taught classes on this subject at Hunter College. After WWII, he worked for the OSS (which later became the CIA).
Rosario Candela died in 1953 leaving a legacy of exquisite buildings for New Yorkers to admire for years to come.
What to know more? Here is a good place to start:
Sources:
*Gross, Michael (2005). 740 Park : The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building. New York: Broadway Books
Video: Vanity Fair Magazine
Photographs:
Top photograph: The Museum of the City of New York
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