Ansonia

Architectural Building, Upper West Side, New York City

"Architecture aims at Eternity." Christopher Wren

Opera singers and this apartment building in the picture have a long history. This famous building which is called the Ansonia, was designed by Stokes, who had no architecture training but gave strict rules to a European architect he hired for the job. A lot of famous people lived in this building and I am sure it contains a lot of secrets behind its walls. 

The Ansonia building stands 18 stories high and this massive structure boasts 1,400 rooms over 50,000 square feet. 

The first time I was told that the Ansonia building was the home for a lot of opera singers I immediately asked why. It's clear enough why, but I am so immersed into looking at this facade that my common sense was lost. The building has very thick walls, therefore musicians could sing or play instruments all they wanted without bothering their neighbors.

Of all the awe-inspiring, historically significant buildings that make the Upper West Side of Manhattan so aesthetically pleasing and popular to the masses, perhaps few are as architecturally exuberant or hold such colorful history as the Ansonia building and hotel. 

This photograph was captured on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic app. Some minor editing was done in PS CS4. Settings for Hipstamatic were BlacKeys B&W/Lucifer IV