Hampshire House is an apartment building and hotel located at 150 Central Park South in Manhattan, New York City, on the southern edge of Central Park between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. It contains 155 apartments on 36 floors.
History
Origins
The building now known as New York City's Hampshire House was the brainchild of an Italian immigrant, Eugene E. Lignante, who came to America in 1891 on the SS Cheribon at the age of 11 with his parents. As a child, he was a talented violinist and working musician who is described in newspapers as having the ability to draw crowds. As an adult Eugene grew to manage and direct several orchestras, playing at events and upscale hotels. With the increasing development of high-rise structures in the city during the early 20th century, Eugene changed career paths working in real estate, building and construction. In December 1925, Eugene hired architect Rollin Caughey to design a 39-story Art Deco tower at 154 West 58th Street, called the Medici Tower.
After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, numerous incomplete projects in New York City proceeded (including 330 West 42nd Street, the Carlyle Hotel, London Terrace, and The Majestic), but the Medici project was postponed. The new owners, H. K, Ferguson Company of Cleveland, Ohio, were forced to allow the building to remain unfinished. In the final redesign, Caughey and Evans created a new plan: an apartment hotel with 34 floors, called Central Park Suites. Caughey and Evans created a balance between traditional and modern architecture in the building, which was renamed the Hampshire House. The New York Times described it as “an adaptation to the modern tall building of the Georgian style such as is found in many old homes in the County of Hampshire, England. The exterior will be a black and white chromium steel.” The Central Park South building was envisioned as a narrow tower with a dome, but the plans were changed to a 36-story apartment hotel in the Regency and Art Deco styles. Later, the tower piqued the interest of the Architectural League of New York which, as a result, attracted a lot of attention throughout the country.
Foreclosure
By late 1930, a contract for of structural steel had been awarded for the building's construction. The developers field plans for Hampshire House in early 1931, and the New York Title and Mortgage Company gave the builders a construction loan of $2.2 million in March 1931. The Hampshire House's cornerstone was laid during a ceremony on March 24, 1931. That July, the New York Title and Mortgage Company sued to foreclose on the property, claiming that the main contractor had quit just before the building was completed. The New York Supreme Court appointed a receiver to collect rent for the building, but there was no rent to collect.
With the onset of the Great Depression, the building stood unfinished for many years. New York Title and Mortgage, who had sought $3 million for the property, had only received a single bid of $800,000. The company bought the hotel at a foreclosure auction in June 1933 for $100,000; the sale represented a loss of nearly $2.4 million. They hired Caughey and Evans again to continue with their plan.
New York Title and Mortgage itself went bankrupt, and the Hampshire House joined a group of buildings in the area with "Series C-2 guaranteed mortgage certificates" that had defaulted on mortgages from the New York Title and Mortgage Company. The C-2 properties were rescued by New York Supreme Court justice Alfred Frankenthaler, who appointed three trustees for the C-2 properties in April 1936. The trustees immediately began devising ways to turn the abandoned Hampshire House into an income-producing property. The trustees started negotiating to sell Hampshire House in August 1936, and the court favored this plan. Later that year, the trustees sought $1.45 million to complete Hampshire House. In December 1936, the court ordered that the trustees complete the building themselves, as they could not find any buyers willing to pay the minimum of $1 million for the property.
Operation
Hampshire House was listed as a new way of luxurious living of suites, proximity to a lot of the most famous amusement sites. The previous trustees of the Hampshire House sold it to the Kirkeby Group in 1946. The Kirkeby group controlled a lot of other prestigious hotels around the country. Later, they merged with Hilton chain.
Hampshire House does not offer short-term stays anymore. All co-operative apartments are owned by someone and it continues to thrive due to its luxurious and elegant residency. The building is known for its welcoming staff, interiors, architectural distinction and outstanding location.