The Dorilton
171 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023
Lincoln Square, Upper West Side
BBL 1011430001 · BIN 1029873
- Year built
- 1900
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 57
- Floors
- 12
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Permitted
- Subletting
- Permitted
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 4BR+ median
- $4.9M
- Recent range
- $2.4M – $5M
- Listing discount
- 6.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 49
The Dorilton is among the most architecturally exuberant residential buildings in the United States — a Beaux-Arts composition by Janes & Leo whose 1902 completion at Broadway and West 71st represents one of the high-water marks of pre-war Manhattan residential design. The building combines architectural ambition unmatched in its era with a forward-looking infrastructural program (electric motorcar charging, filtered water, separate tenant and servant elevators) that anticipated luxury-apartment expectations decades ahead.
Architectural significance. The Dorilton's façade is among the most photographed and most reproduced in architectural literature on Manhattan apartments. The 4th-floor balustrade statues of "The Seasons," the muscular titan figures supporting balconies, the 9th-floor connecting arch over the 71st Street courtyard, the sculpted cherubs, the colossal limestone columns surmounted by enormous globes — these elements together produce a building whose architectural character is genuinely singular. Montgomery Schuyler's 1902 line — that the building "yells 'Come and look at me'" — captures the deliberate visual ambition.
Notable early residents included Mrs. Hector H. Havemeyer (1903 socialite), Mrs. John Frank Dunham (society hostess), and Emil Wolff (the millionaire who left more than $2 million to charity at his 1918 death).
Preservation and conversion history. The Dorilton operated as luxury rental from 1902 until the 1984 cooperative conversion. Immediately following conversion, shareholders undertook a $1.5 million roof and façade restoration that included re-slating the mansard, reproducing missing dormers and decorative cresting, and stabilizing the building's exterior ornament. The 1984 conversion and the subsequent restoration positioned The Dorilton as one of the most architecturally maintained pre-war UWS cooperatives.
Architecture and unit composition
The Dorilton's exterior is unmatched in residential architecture of any era. The 12-story Beaux-Arts composition rises through stone, limestone, and brick to the elaborate mansard cap with dormers and decorative cresting. The 71st Street courtyard entrance — spanned by a 9th-floor connecting arch — is among the most architecturally distinguished apartment-house entrances in New York City.
The 57 apartments distribute across 12 stories with substantial floor-plate variety. Original apartment configurations included substantial multi-bedroom layouts with the era's signatures: French paneled rooms, formal entry galleries, library-living combinations, primary suites with substantial closet infrastructure. Apartment quality varies meaningfully across the building's 120-year history; renovation states reflect different periods of the building's operational life.
The infrastructural sophistication of the original 1902 design — separate elevators for tenants and servants, filtered water systems, electric motorcar charging facilities — has been substantially modernized but the architectural ambition of the original program persists.
Building operations
The Dorilton operates as a full-service pre-war cooperative under The Dorilton Corp. The 25% minimum down payment is materially more accessible than tier-one Park Avenue or CPW pre-war co-ops (where 50% down is typical). Pets, pied-à-terre, and sublets are all permitted under the building's rules — a meaningfully more flexible posture than typical tier-one trophy buildings.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $59,391/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $99
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials 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
The Dorilton's annual turnover is thin — typically 3–5 arms-length closings — which makes each recent sale read as a comp rather than a market datapoint. The 2024 high-water mark was the E12C combined duplex, formerly the residence of Arthur Sulzberger Jr. of the New York Times, which closed at $6.75M after sitting on the market for over a year and trading 12.3% below its original $7.7M ask — a useful calibration for sellers of large combined apartments in the building. Premium-line pricing has held: the 2023 closing of 12BPH at roughly $2,125 per square foot remains the per-foot peak among the recorded apartment-level sales, and the March 2026 closing of 8CE at $4.75M signals that the combined C/E mid-floor configurations continue to trade in the high-$4M range without meaningful concession.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | 8CE | 4 BR · 3.5 BA | $4,750,000 | -5.0% | |
| Oct 16, 2024 | PH | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 3,175 sf | $6,750,000 | $2,126/sf | -7.5% |
| Jun 27, 2024 | 4DE | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 2,950 sf | $3,875,000 | $1,314/sf | -6.6% |
| Dec 20, 2023 | 2E | 2 BR · 2 BA | $2,425,000 | -6.6% | |
| Jun 7, 2023 | PENTHSE12B | 4 BR · 4 BA · 3,000 sf | $6,375,000 | $2,125/sf | -5.6% |
| May 15, 2023 | 87 | 4 BR · 4.5 BA · 4,000 sf | $4,985,000 | $1,246/sf | -9.3% |
| Jun 28, 2022 | 9B | 2 BR · 2 BA | $4,100,000 | +3.8% | |
| Apr 20, 2022 | 2B | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,757,500 | -7.3% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2024): a median $1,468/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.1% 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.
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 1-01143-0001) 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
The architectural significance is genuinely singular. Janes & Leo's Beaux-Arts composition is unmatched in residential architecture. For buyers who value architectural distinction at the highest level, The Dorilton occupies a category nearly to itself.
The 25% minimum down payment is materially more accessible than tier-one Manhattan co-ops. Combined with the permissive pet, pied-à-terre, and sublet policies, the building's operational posture is among the most flexible in any landmark pre-war UWS cooperative.
The Broadway / 71st positioning is central UWS. Immediate transit access (the 72nd Street 1/2/3 hub one block north), substantial retail at the building's doorstep, and walking proximity to Lincoln Center, Riverside Park, and the broader UWS amenity base.
Apartment quality varies. The 120-year operational history and the 1984 conversion produced apartments of materially different renovation states. Apartment-level diligence is essential.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Dorilton, also evaluate:
- The Ansonia (2109 Broadway) — Duboy 1904, the closest Beaux-Arts UWS peer
- The Apthorp (2207 Broadway) — Clinton & Russell 1908, full-block UWS palazzo
- The Belnord (225 West 86th) — Hiss & Weekes 1909, full-block UWS palazzo
- The Chatsworth (344 West 72nd) — Scharsmith 1902, exact-contemporary Beaux-Arts neighbor
- The Osborne (205 West 57th) — Ware 1885, the senior pre-war landmark
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper West Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper West Side.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at The Dorilton?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Dorilton would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.