- Year built
- 1907
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- Designated
Alwyn Court is one of the most extraordinary buildings in New York. Designed by Harde & Short and completed in 1909, it is famous for a single, total architectural gesture: every square inch of its exterior is sheathed in elaborate French Renaissance terracotta ornament in the Francis I style — crowned salamanders, dragons, and a riot of decorative relief covering the entire façade. There is nothing else like it in the city. The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1966 and remains one of the most photographed and celebrated apartment houses in Manhattan.
The terracotta was a deliberate choice as much economic as aesthetic — at the time it cost roughly a third of carved stone, and the reusable molds let the architects lavish the building with ornament limited only by the number of unique designs. The effect is unrepeatable today. Inside, the building's octagonal interior courtyard carries a renowned trompe-l'œil mural by artist Richard Haas, turning a utilitarian light well into one of the city's quiet wonders.
Alwyn Court was converted to a cooperative in 1980 and today holds 74 residences. For buyers, the proposition is rare: ownership in a genuine architectural landmark, in a full-service co-op, at the doorstep of Carnegie Hall, Columbus Circle, and Central Park's southwest corner. This is a building bought for its history and its façade as much as for its address.
Architecture and unit composition
The façade is the building, and the building is the façade. Harde & Short's terracotta program is among the most complete expressions of decorative architecture in New York — a landmark protected precisely because its ornament cannot be reproduced. The main entrance on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 58th Street leads into a building whose exterior commands attention from blocks away.
The 1980 conversion reconfigured the original layouts into the 74 residences that exist today. Homes range across a variety of layouts, many retaining the high ceilings and gracious proportions of a pre-war building of this caliber, with the most desirable lines capturing light over the surrounding streetscape or onto the famous interior courtyard. Buyers here are acquiring a piece of a designated landmark, and the homes are valued accordingly — for their setting inside one of the city's great buildings as much as for their individual configuration.
Building operations
Alwyn Court runs as a full-service cooperative. A doorman staffs the lobby, a live-in superintendent manages the property, and residents have access to a central laundry, bicycle storage, and the celebrated interior octagonal courtyard with its Haas mural. As a designated landmark, the building's exterior is protected, and the cooperative maintains it to the standard its history demands.
As with any cooperative, ownership involves a board: a buyer prepares a purchase application and interview, and the board reviews financials and intended use. Prospective owners should expect the diligence typical of a well-run pre-war co-op and come to the process prepared. The reward is membership in one of the most distinctive buildings in New York, with the stewardship that landmark status entails.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $53,875/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $60
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The facade passed its last inspection with no required repairs — nothing to budget for here, and no facade assessment on the horizon for roughly five years.
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, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2013 | 5A | $1,616,000 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01010-0061) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
Buy the landmark. The reason to own here is singular: a residence inside one of the most celebrated and architecturally complete buildings in New York, a designated landmark whose façade cannot be replicated. That distinction gives the building a durability of value and identity that ordinary apartment houses lack.
Prepare for the cooperative process. Ownership is co-op, with a board application and interview; approach it with a complete, well-prepared package. Confirm the specific home's layout, ceiling height, light, and condition — homes in a building of this vintage vary, and the right line is the one whose proportions and outlook match the buyer.
Value the location. Steps from Carnegie Hall, a short walk to Columbus Circle, the southwest corner of Central Park, and the West 57th Street cultural and retail spine, with deep transit access nearby — the setting is as strong as the architecture.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the building. The terracotta landmark, the Haas courtyard, and the architectural pedigree are the building's irreplaceable assets and the centerpiece of any marketing — they distinguish a home here from every other cooperative in the corridor. Sell the building, then the home.
Benchmark to landmark and distinguished pre-war co-ops. A resale belongs against the corridor's finest pre-war cooperatives, where buyers pay for character, provenance, and proportion. The landmark status and the building's fame are differentiators that widen the audience well beyond a typical co-op listing.
Present to the pre-war strengths. Buyers drawn here respond to ceiling height, original proportion, light, and the romance of the building itself; a well-prepared home that showcases those qualities will stand out, particularly given how rarely apartments at Alwyn Court come to market.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering Alwyn Court, these nearby distinguished buildings are worth evaluating:
- 112 Central Park South — Central Park South cooperative
- 50 Central Park South — Central Park South condominium
- 200 Central Park South — Central Park South cooperative
- 150 West 56th Street — Midtown full-service building near the park
- Essex House — Central Park South landmark residence
- Hampshire House — Central Park South cooperative
The Roebling Team at Alwyn Court
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park South, Midtown East, and the landmark pre-war cooperative market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers evaluating a building of this stature deserve building-specific intelligence — the architecture and its protections, how the homes live, what the cooperative expects, and where the pricing sits against the corridor's finest stock.
If you're weighing a purchase or sale at Alwyn Court, a focused consultation is the right starting point.
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.