Hampshire House (150 Central Park South)
150 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
- Year built
- 1931
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 155
- Floors
- 37
- Landmark
- No
Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South is among the most architecturally and culturally distinctive Central Park South buildings — a 37-story Georgian-adapted composition that emerged from one of the most consequential construction histories in Manhattan apartment-building stock. The building was conceived in 1929 as "The Medici" by the H. K. Ferguson Company of Cleveland, with construction commencing in January 1931. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Depression halted the project shortly after construction began; the building's steel-framed shell stood abandoned through much of the 1930s, a visible reminder of the financial collapse, before architects Caughey & Evans completed it in 1937 under the new Hampshire House name. The building opened on October 16, 1937 — among the few new luxury Manhattan apartment buildings to complete during the Depression decade, and one whose architectural language explicitly evoked the country-house Georgian tradition rather than the Art Deco / Moderne vocabulary that dominated other 1937-era construction.
The building's distinguishing exterior feature is its dramatic steeply-pitched copper roof crowned by twin chimneys — a silhouette that has anchored the Central Park South skyline for nearly nine decades and that produces among the most recognizable Manhattan rooflines. The Georgian adaptation, as The New York Times described it, translates the architectural vocabulary of English Hampshire country houses to the modern tall-building form. The combination is unusual: a building that reads as both unmistakably Manhattan (37 stories rising at the southern edge of Central Park) and unmistakably Georgian in detailing.
The interior legacy is equally significant. Dorothy Draper — the most influential American interior designer of the mid-20th century, whose work shaped the visual identity of hotels, restaurants, and luxury residences across her career — was hired by the building's trustees to design the interior public spaces. Her scheme deployed her signature daring contrasts: black, white, and turquoise as the dominant palette; overscale plaster carving; mirrors and glass block; and the now-iconic cast clear glass door moldings. The Draper interiors are part of Hampshire House's cultural and architectural identity, and their preservation across the building's 90-year history has been a deliberate institutional choice.
The 1949 cooperative conversion was relatively early in the Central Park South rental-to-co-op transition. The building has operated as a cooperative for nearly 80 years across multiple eras of Manhattan luxury market activity, including the Park-facing market's recovery from the 1990s downturn and the subsequent rise of 220 Central Park South immediately adjacent. Hampshire House's positioning at 150 Central Park South — one block from Columbus Circle and two from 220 CPS — places it at the heart of the modern Central Park South corridor.
For buyers, Hampshire House represents a particular tier of Central Park South pre-war inventory: architecturally distinguished, with a meaningful construction-history backstory and an interior design heritage that connects the building to mid-20th-century American design culture, at a 155-unit scale that produces broader buyer dynamics than the smallest tier-one peers.
Architecture and unit composition
The 155 apartments span the 37 floors, with configurations from approximately 1,200 sf 1BRs to substantial 4,000+ sf 4BRs, full-floor combinations on the upper-tier floors, and the occasional duplex. The upper floors carry meaningful view-altitude premiums; the building's steep-pitched roof produces unusual upper-floor configurations and ceiling shapes.
Caughey & Evans's Georgian-influenced detailing throughout: traditional crown moldings, formal entry galleries, library-living combinations, period detailing in primary rooms. The building's apartment-by-apartment heterogeneity is meaningful across the building's nearly century-long history, with renovations producing varied configurations and finish conditions.
Park-facing apartments on the northern flank have direct Central Park views; the building's positioning at the southern edge of the Park gives upper floors particularly long view envelopes northward. View permanence is meaningful — the corridor is built out, though 220 CPS at 220 Central Park South (immediately east) has changed the relative view experience for east-facing apartments.
Building operations
Hampshire House operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, and concierge services. Some hotel-style amenity infrastructure has been preserved from the building's original program.
The cooperative converted in 1949 — relatively early in the CPS rental-to-co-op transition — and has operated as a co-op for nearly 80 years. Specific policy details (financing posture, flip tax structure, sublet policy specifics, pied-à-terre allowance) should be confirmed directly with property management during due diligence; the building's policy block is not formally published in the manner of comparable buildings.
Recent sales
Last 5–10 closed sales at Hampshire House (replace this section with current ACRIS data — pull at publication time and refresh quarterly):
[Recent sales table to be populated from ACRIS]
Sales context at Hampshire House:
- Inventory turnover is moderate given the 155-unit scale — typically 6–12 transactions per year.
- Pricing spans a wide range — smaller 1BRs have transacted in the $1.5M–$2.5M range; larger 2BRs and 3BRs in the $3M–$8M range; full-floor configurations and high-floor Park-facing units in the $10M–$20M range.
- Public listing through StreetEasy, Compass private exclusive, and broker network outreach is standard.
What to know if you’re buying
The architectural and design heritage is real and marketable. Hampshire House's Georgian adaptation, the steeply-pitched copper roof, the Dorothy Draper interiors — these are differentiators that the building's residents and the broker community recognize. Buyers attentive to architectural and design history will respond.
Confirm specific policies directly with management. Because the building's policy block is not formally published in the manner of comparable buildings, buyers should obtain current information on the flip tax structure (payor and percentage), financing posture (cash-only requirement or financing cap, if any), and sublet policy specifics during the contract review process.
Board approval follows Central Park South pre-war norms. Strong financial profile, professional accomplishment, and primary-residence intent are central criteria. The 155-unit scale produces somewhat more accessible board dynamics than the 13–60 unit tier-one peers.
220 Central Park South's positioning matters. The 2018 Stern supertall at 220 CPS is the immediate eastern neighbor; its construction substantially changed the view envelope and the broader CPS corridor's positioning. Buyers should view apartments with attention to current view conditions vs. pre-2018 conditions.
Renovation is constrained by historic-character expectations. The board reviews scope and quality with attention to preservation of the Caughey & Evans Georgian detailing and the Draper-era interior elements where they remain in apartments.
View permanence is excellent. Central Park north; the corridor's development envelope is substantially built out; the steeply-pitched roof's upper floors enjoy the most distinctive views.
What to know if you’re selling
Marketing should emphasize the architectural and design heritage. Listing copy should reference the building's Georgian-adapted architecture, the iconic copper roof, the Caughey & Evans / Dorothy Draper history — these are differentiators that the typical comparable Central Park South building cannot match.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. The building's 155-unit scale produces meaningful variation; view, floor altitude, exposure, configuration, renovation status, and proximity to the building's upper-floor signature spaces all matter.
Marketing typically combines public listing and direct broker outreach. Public channels are standard for most inventory; private network outreach matters more for higher-priced full-floor and large-configuration apartments.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
The Roebling Team at Hampshire House
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Central Park South buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and the realities of pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at Hampshire House, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll bring the full context this page provides plus the transactional specifics your situation requires — financial structuring, board approvability, comparable analysis at the apartment level, and the pacing strategy that fits your timeline.