Ritz Tower

Manhattan, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Ritz Tower at 465 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan is a 541-foot, 41-story luxury residential building designed by Emery Roth and Thomas Hastings for journalist Arthur Brisbane, who developed it as an apartment hotel between 1925 and 1926. Upon completion, it was the tallest residential building in New York City, a height achieved because its apartment-hotel classification permitted greater vertical development than standard residential codes allowed. The Beaux-Arts structure features a classically inspired design with numerous setbacks embellished by balustrades, pilasters, and pediments, while its lower floors are richly ornamented with sculpted putti, urns, and rusticated limestone. A pyramidal roof crowned by a tall obelisk caps the composition. The interior showcases parquet floors and wood-paneled walls throughout its 400 units, which notably contained no individual kitchens—a feature consistent with its hotel function. After opening on October 15, 1926, the building was managed by the Ritz-Carlton Company before passing through several owners, including William Randolph Hearst, and eventually became a housing cooperative in 1956. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it a New York City landmark in 2002.

Architect

Emery Roth

Movement

Beaux-Arts

Built: 1926
Type: tower block, apartment building
Place: Manhattan, United States

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Location

40.76167, -73.97028