A writer who helped bring the musical Hamilton to life has an historic new home.
Biographer Ron Chernow, whose 2004 tome Alexander Hamilton inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning and exceptionally lucrative Broadway musical, has purchased a two-bedroom apartment at the Dakota, one of the oldest apartment buildings on the Upper West Side.
Chernow, who has also written biographies of John D. Rockefeller, Ulysses S. Grant and George Washington, the last of which nabbed him a Pulitzer in 2011, paid around $5 million for the prewar home at 1 W. 72nd St., according to the city register.
The apartment, which features 13-foot ceilings, three fireplaces and a formal dining room, plus ample amounts of the ornate wood molding the Dakota is known for, was sold by David Bell, the former chairman of the ad agency conglomerate The Interpublic Group of Companies, and Gail Bell, a stage actress.
The Bells appear to have made out well in the deal, which closed on April 1 and appeared in the register on Monday. They listed the unit in September for $4.95 million and so managed to sell it for a hair more than they first sought. Daniela Kunen, the Douglas Elliman agent who brokered the deal on behalf of the Bells, had no comment.
Completed in 1884 when the farmhouse-dotted Upper West Side was considered rural, which led to the building’s self-deprecating name, the Dakota seemed to easily shake off any reputation of being off the beaten track, especially after going co-op in 1961, when it became a destination for buyers from all kinds of strata of New York society.
Indeed, the list of residents through the years can read like a Who’s Who of musical, theatrical and even athletic city histories: Jets quarterback Joe Namath, actress Lauren Bacall and singer Roberta Flack have all called it home at different points.
Of course, Beatles guitarist John Lennon was also a shareholder before being shot to death outside the building’s gates in 1980 by a crazed fan.
Turnover in the castle-like edifice, which faces Central Park, has been rare as of late. Chernow’s purchase represents the first real estate transaction at the building since No. 42 traded for $4.3 million last summer, city records show.
The musical Hamilton, for which Chernow served as a consultant, premiered on Broadway in 2015 and became an instant smash with fans and critics, enough so to eventually nab 11 Tony awards. And as the show about an American founding father has since become a hit abroad as well, it has reportedly raked in revenues of more than $1 billion.
C. J. Hughes , 2024-04-16 17:35:40
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