Rosario Candela and 960 5th Avenue

During his career, Rosario Candela designed 82 apartment buildings in New York City. These dwellings, built mostly in the 1920s, were created for families moving out of their high maintenance mansions into large, convenient apartments. Candela's innovative layouts created gracious spaces for living and entertaining.* One of Candela's revolutionary ideas was to place the privates space (bedrooms) far from the entertaining space.

The Museum of The City of New York Digital Collection

960 5th Avenue was built on the former site of Senator William Clark's mansion on the part of 5th Avenue that was known as Millionaires Row. Clark's mansion was one of many that were demolished to create new apartment buildings.**

Although 960 5th Avenue was designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, Candela was the supervisory architect. Candela hired the soon to be famous decorator Dorothy Draper (she of the famous Cabbage Rose Chintz) to be a consultant. You can see her stylized black and white tile in the lobbies.

The Museum of the City of New York

Compass Real Estate

Years later, famous interior designer in her own right, Sister Parish (who helped First Lady Jackie Kennedy with the White House renovations) would live here.

It should be no surprise that his building, 960 5th Avenue is still New York City's most prestigious address. The New York Times stated it was one of the city's 'A-plus' buildings "that signify that you are wealthy and social, that you have made it to the pinnacle of what many consider world society."*** In 2020, an eleven room duplex was on sale for eleven million dollars. That is a million dollar per room! If only to be so lucky.

Check out the listing: 960 5th Avenue, Unit 1/2B, Manhattan, NY 10075 | Compass

What to know more? This is a good place to start:

Elegance in the Sky | Museum of the City of New York (mcny.org)

Elegance In The Sky Exhibition at MCNY Looks at the Influential NYC Architecture of Rosario Candela - Untapped New York (untappedcities.com)

Sources:

*Zachary Kussin via New York Post How Rosario Candela redefined the NYC luxury apartment (nypost.com)

**Lindsay Turley via The Museum of the City of New York William A. Clark Mansion (mcny.org)

***Monique P. Yazigi via The New York Times

Photographs:

Top photograph: The Museum of The City of New York

Video: The Museum of The City of New York