- Year built
- 1883
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 84
- Floors
- 11
- Landmark
- Designated
- Pets
- Permitted
- Subletting
- Restrictive (typical of tier-one pre-war Manhattan cooperatives)
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR · combo median
- $965K
- Recent range
- $649K – $2.6M
- Listing discount
- 3.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 71
The Osborne is one of the oldest luxury apartment buildings in New York City — and one of the most architecturally distinguished by any measure. James E. Ware's 1883–1885 Romanesque composition, developed by Irish-born stone contractor Thomas Osborne as a private commission and named for himself, was constructed at a moment when the luxury apartment-house concept was still establishing itself in New York. The Osborne and The Dakota were near-simultaneous completions (1885 and 1884 respectively); The Osborne survives in active residential use today.
The building's significance is anchored by three layers:
1. Architectural and craft significance. The deeply rusticated brownstone exterior is unmatched among the city's residential stock — a fortress-massing composition that reads as institutional rather than residential. The exterior detailing — carved stone, deeply set windows, the arched portico — was executed at a level of craft typical of major institutional commissions of the era.
2. The lobby. The Osborne's lobby is among the most architecturally distinguished pre-war residential lobbies in New York City. Mosaic floor work, gold-leaf surfaces, polychrome marble, and integrated decorative arts executed in collaboration with Tiffany Studios (Louis Comfort Tiffany), John La Farge (the painter and stained-glass artist), and Augustus Saint-Gaudens (the sculptor). Few buildings of any era — residential or institutional — combine craft authorship of that caliber in a single common space.
3. The 1962 preservation story. In 1962, developer Sarah Korein acquired the building with the intention of demolishing it for a 17-story replacement. The shareholders organized, raised approximately $500,000, and bought the building back from Korein to prevent the demolition — converting the rental property into the cooperative that operates today. The shareholder-led purchase saved one of the most architecturally significant pre-war buildings in the city. The 1991 NYC Landmark designation, 1993 state designation, and 1993 National Register listing followed.
Notable original and later residents included U.S. Senator John Coit Spooner; later residents Imogene Coca, Lynn Redgrave, Clifton Webb, Vera Miles, and **Leonard Bernstein.
Notable historical events. In addition to the 1962 preservation story, the building is associated with a notable tragedy: on October 19, 1978, actor Gig Young fatally shot his new wife and himself in his Osborne apartment, three weeks after their wedding.
Architecture and unit composition
The Osborne's exterior is rusticated brownstone Romanesque — a fortress massing on the 57th Street side with a deeply arched portico entrance. The carved exterior detailing was executed at the craft level of major late-19th-century institutional commissions.
The lobby is the building's most singular architectural element. The mosaic, gold-leaf, and polychrome marble surfaces collaborate with the work of Tiffany Studios, John La Farge, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens to produce a residential common space of museum-grade decorative-arts significance.
The 84 apartments distribute across 11 stories on West 57th Street and 14–15 stories at the rear. Original apartments were substantial — 38 large units at construction; the building's subsequent history produced subdivision and reconfiguration to the current ~84 units. Apartment quality varies meaningfully across the building's apartments; the 140-year operational history has produced a wide range of renovation states.
Pre-war signatures throughout: substantial ceiling heights, formal entry arrangements, the building's signature decorative-arts integration in common areas, and the distinct fortress massing visible from inside the apartments through the deeply set windows.
Building operations
The Osborne operates as a full-service tier-one pre-war cooperative with full-time doorman, attended elevator, on-site superintendent, the historic lobby, and private storage. The 50% minimum down payment is typical of tier-one pre-war Manhattan co-ops. The board operates with the institutional discretion characteristic of buildings of comparable architectural significance.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $53,379/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $166,198/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $39 – $120
Recent sales
The Osborne's apartment-level activity in the public record is thin — the landmarked 1885 James E. Ware design runs to small, infrequent arms-length sales of often-irregular layouts, with deep preserved historic detail (Byzantine lobby, original mosaics, intact carved-mahogany interior elements) shaping per-foot pricing more than typical floor or line conventions. The defining recent data point is 2CA at $2.65M (May 2024) — a 900-sqft 1BR/1BA — which cleared at a strong per-foot rate consistent with the building's premium-condition tier for one-bedroom inventory. Larger inventory is essentially unrepresented in the recent recorded record; some of the building's most architecturally significant apartments have been re-listed but not yet closed at the time of writing. Buyers benchmarking The Osborne should expect significant per-unit price variance based on condition and preserved original detail, rather than relying on a stable PSF baseline.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2025 | 6DE | 2 BR · 1 BA | $699,000 | -6.7% | |
| Jan 2, 2025 | 10DC | 1 BR · 1 BA · 868 sf Closed Dec 23, 2024 at $965K (recorded transfer; no public public listing data listing at this closing). 10DC — small-unit configuration. | $965,000 | $1,112/sf | -12.3% |
| Dec 4, 2024 | 9AB | 1 BR · 1 BA Closed Nov 27, 2024 (recorded Dec 3) at $649K — full-ask, 0% off. 9AB 1BR. Clean full-ask on the small-unit tier. | $649,000 | +0.0% | |
| Jun 24, 2024 | 2DB | 2 BR · 1 BA · private outdoor Closed Jun 13, 2024 (recorded Jun 21) at $850K — 2.86% under the $875K asking. 2DB 2BR. | $850,000 | -2.9% | |
| Jun 5, 2024 | 2CA | 2 BR · 2 BA Closed May 31, 2024 (recorded Jun 4) at $2.65M (recorded transfer; public listing data reported #2CA/2DA closing at $2.75M with no government record found — the recorded transfer reflects $2.65M, $100K below SE-reported). Combined 2CA/2DA 2BR configuration. Among the larger Osborne trades of 2024. | $2,650,000 | -3.6% | |
| Jun 21, 2023 | 9DB | 1 BR · 1 BA Closed Jun 7, 2023 (recorded Jun 20) at $999,999 — full-ask, 0% off. 9DB 1BR. Clean full-ask close at the building's sub-$1M tier. | $999,999 | +0.0% | |
| Mar 4, 2021 | 11DB | 1 BR · 1 BA | $599,000 | -7.7% | |
| Jun 28, 2019 | 4DE | 1 BR · 1 BA Closed Jun 26, 2019 (recorded Jun 27) at $675K — 8.16% under the $735K asking. 4DE 1BR. | $675,000 | -8.2% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2024) cleared a median $1,007/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 4.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2020 | 10AB | $600,000 |
| Aug 12, 2014 | 3B | $4,850,000 |
| Dec 9, 2013 | 6A/C | $650,000 |
| Jun 21, 2012 | 2CB | $575,000 |
| Aug 23, 2010 | 9BB | $999,000 |
| Jun 29, 2010 | 5A | $515,000 |
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 1-01029-0027) 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 and craft significance is genuinely singular. The Tiffany / La Farge / Saint-Gaudens lobby alone places The Osborne in a category of one. Buyers of architectural significance will find nothing comparable in the Manhattan residential market.
The 1962 preservation story is part of the building's institutional culture. The shareholders who saved the building from demolition established the cooperative's enduring posture: long-term-oriented ownership, careful capital stewardship, and an institutional culture that prioritizes preservation.
Apartment quality varies substantially. The 140-year operational history and subsequent subdivision have produced apartments of materially different states. Diligence on the specific apartment is essential.
The location is distinctive. Opposite Carnegie Hall and within walking proximity to Lincoln Center, Central Park, Columbus Circle, and Billionaires' Row — a particular Midtown West positioning unmatched elsewhere.
The board posture is institutional. 50% minimum down payment, restrictive sublet posture, and the broader rigor characteristic of tier-one pre-war Manhattan cooperatives. The board operates with the discretion characteristic of buildings of comparable architectural significance.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Osborne, also evaluate:
- The Dakota (1 West 72nd Street) — Hardenbergh 1884; nearly-simultaneous completion; the closest peer in pre-war architectural significance
- The Apthorp (2207 Broadway) — Clinton & Russell 1908; full-block palazzo; condominium structure
- The Belnord (225 West 86th) — Hiss & Weekes 1909; full-block palazzo with RAMSA-led condominium conversion
- The Beresford (211 Central Park West) — Emery Roth 1929; CPW twin-tower Park-fronting peer
- The Plaza (1 Central Park South) — Hardenbergh 1907; mixed-use trophy peer
The Roebling Team at The Osborne
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in trophy pre-war Manhattan residential buildings — including landmark properties on Central Park West, Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue, and at the intersection of Midtown West and Billionaires' Row. We publish this building profile because Osborne buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence at the apartment level.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at The Osborne, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.