55 Central Park West

The Shandor Building is anything but ordinary. Located in New York’s Upper West Side, it seems it fits in the cityscape and looks similar to a lot of other buildings. However, it’s the other buildings that look similar to it.

It was designed in the 1920s as the first of its kind; the only fully-styled Art Deco structure in the area.

It quickly became famous and set a trend for other buildings throughout the city. Over the years, the Shandor Building has attracted many famous tenants. Here is a brief history of some of its celebrity residents.

The architect was Ivo Shandor. The Shandor was the only building he ever designed, but even more noteworthy is that he was a prominent doctor at the time. In fact he did a lot of interesting (for lack of a better word) things throughout his life. You can read about them in his brief biography.

Although the Art Deco style is heavily inspired by the art of ancient civilizations, the Shandor very closely resembles a ziggurat. There even appears to be some type of shrine on the top, which some historical evidence suggests was a common feature of ziggurats. Normal for temples, but it seems somewhat misplaced atop an apartment complex.

The building is no doubt unique, but parts of it are confounding. Here are just some of its odd and unusual features:

-       Iron-work extends down through fifty feet of bedrock

-       Roof cap was fabricated with a magnesium-tungsten alloy

-       Cold-riveted girders with pure selenium cores

I do not think there has been a building that has been made with such strange materials.  Nor can I understand why the structure extends so deep.

For a more detailed look at the structure, here is a copy of some of the blueprints.

In style and structure, the building encompasses the non-traditional. Shandor must have either been a madman or an architectural genius. The jury is still out on that one.