- Year built
- 1909
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 32
- Landmark
- Designated
Every recorded sale at this building, 2002–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 3BR median
- $7.1M
- Recent range
- $5M – $7.1M
- Listing discount
- 9.2%
- Recorded transfers
- 26
44 West 77th Street — the Studio Building — is one of the most distinctive apartment houses on the Upper West Side and a genuine New York landmark. Completed in 1909 to a Neo-Gothic design by Harde & Short, the firm behind the celebrated Alwyn Court, it was conceived by developer Walter Russell as a hybrid of conventional apartments and double-height artists' studios, with three projecting bays of large north-facing windows engineered to flood those studios with even, constant light. The contemporary press called it a departure from anything attempted in the city, and the building has never lost that singularity.
For buyers, the appeal is the rarest kind on the Upper West Side: architecturally important, landmark-protected, and home to soaring double-height studio layouts that simply do not exist in ordinary pre-war stock. The location compounds it — a single block off Central Park West, directly across from the American Museum of Natural History, with the park, the museum, and the West 81st Street subway all within steps. There are only 32 apartments, which makes this a small, closely held, and trophy-grade co-op.
Architecture and unit composition
The facade is the building's signature: brick and limestone wrapped in elaborate Neo-Gothic terra-cotta tracery, with an ornate arched entrance and three tiers of projecting bays carrying tall, mullioned, north-facing windows. It is among the finest specimens of Gothic apartment-house design in the city, and the landmark designation reflects that.
Behind the facade, the layouts are the draw. The building was planned around double-height artists' studios — including, originally, a 44-foot-long double-height unit created for the sculptor Karl Bitter — alongside more conventional apartments, and many homes retain dramatic ceiling heights, mezzanine levels, and the wall of north light the design was built to deliver. Combined with the building's 32-unit scale and pre-war proportions, the result is a collection of unusually individual residences, no two quite alike.
Building operations
44 West 77th Street operates as a full-service cooperative, with a full-time doorman, a live-in resident manager, central laundry, and storage; the building is pet-friendly. Purchases proceed through the standard co-op board package and interview. As a small, landmark pre-war co-op, the building carries the conservative financial posture and owner-occupant culture typical of the category, and as a designated landmark, exterior alterations fall under Landmarks Preservation Commission review.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2025 | 8W | 3 BR · 3 BA · 2,650 sf | $4,999,000 | $1,886/sf | -9.1% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 11W | 3 BR · 2 BA · 2,800 sf | $7,100,000 | $2,536/sf | -2.1% |
| Oct 27, 2021 | 10E | 3 BR · 2.5 BA | $7,750,000 | -13.4% | |
| Sep 12, 2018 | PH14/15/16 | 5 BR | $10,800,000 | -28.0% | |
| Dec 15, 2017 | 4W | 3 BR | $5,900,000 | -15.7% | |
| Mar 11, 2015 | 1B | 1 BR · 1 BA | $651,000 | -10.2% | |
| Oct 14, 2014 | 1E | 5 BR · 2,600 sf | $3,269,000 | $1,257/sf | -9.2% |
| Jul 7, 2014 | PH13 | 3 BR · 4,187 sf | $11,506,000 | $2,748/sf | -11.5% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $2,536/sf across 2 sales. Median listing discount 9.2% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2019 | 1W | $901,000 |
| Sep 12, 2018 | 14E | $10,800,000 |
| Mar 11, 2015 | 1A | $855,000 |
| Mar 17, 2011 | 7E | $5,750,000 |
| Aug 3, 2010 | 3W | $5,050,000 |
| Nov 7, 2007 | 10E | $7,900,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01129-0055) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
This is a co-op, so expect a board package and interview and the diligence a small, conservative pre-war building conducts. The reward is exceptional and scarce: a landmark Harde & Short address with double-height studio space a block from Central Park and across from the Natural History Museum. Because the most dramatic homes appear on the market infrequently, buyers drawn to a studio layout should be ready to move when one surfaces. We help buyers understand the building's financials, evaluate the particular layout and light of an individual home, and prepare a board package that clears cleanly.
What to know if you’re selling
Few buildings on the Upper West Side offer a stronger narrative. The marketing should lead with the landmark Neo-Gothic architecture, the Harde & Short and Walter Russell provenance, and — where applicable — the double-height studio layout and north light that define the building. These are homes buyers seek out by name. Pricing belongs against the building's own history and the city's small set of architecturally significant studio co-ops rather than against ordinary pre-war comparables. We position these residences to the buyer who values architectural rarity and is prepared to pay for it.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 44 West 77th Street, also evaluate these nearby Central Park West and Upper West Side cooperatives:
- 6 West 77th Street — pre-war co-op on the same block
- 40 West 77th Street — neighboring West 77th Street co-op
- 15 West 81st Street — pre-war co-op near the museum
- 18 West 87th Street — Upper West Side pre-war peer
- 170 West 76th Street — full-service Upper West Side co-op
The Roebling Team at The Studio Building
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper West Side, Central Park West, and the broader landmark pre-war Manhattan co-op market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating an architecturally significant building deserve building-specific intelligence — the history, the unusual layouts, the landmark constraints, and where pricing sits for a one-of-a-kind home.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 44 West 77th, a 30-minute consultation is the right place to start.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.