The Dorilton

Dorilton
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 0858
Location	171 W. 71st St., Manhattan, New York
Coordinates	40°46′41″N 73°58′54″W / 40.77806°N 73.98167°W / 40.77806; -73.98167
Area	less than one acre
Built	1900
Architect	Janes & Leo
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	83001723[1]
NYCL No.	0858
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 8, 1983
Designated NYCL	September 8, 1983

The Dorilton is a luxury residential housing cooperative at 171 West 71st Street, at the northeast corner with Broadway, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 12-story building, designed by local firm Janes & Leo in the Beaux-Arts style, was built between 1900 and 1902 for real estate developer Hamilton M. Weed. The Dorilton is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Dorilton is roughly H-shaped in plan, with recessed light courts facing south and north. The southern light court, along 71st Street, functions as an entrance courtyard with a gateway. The limestone-and-brick facade is divided into three horizontal sections: a three-story base, six-story shaft, and three-story upper section with mansard roof. The decoration on the facade includes bronze oriel windows curving outward, as well as sculptures, decorative terracotta, and balconies. Inside, the building had its own mechanical plant and three elevators. The lobby had several classical details, while the upper stories had 48 apartments, which by the 21st century had been divided into 60 apartments. The units contained decorations such as paneling, Queen Anne style fireplaces, French doors, and round window bays. When the Dorilton was completed, its design generally received positive acclaim from architectural critics.

Weed bought the site in February 1900 and hired the firm of Janes & Leo to design a twelve-story apartment hotel on the site. The building cost $750,000 and was intended to attract middle-class residents who otherwise would not have lived in apartments. Storefronts on the ground floor were added after 1919, and many decorative elements were removed or had deteriorated by the 1950s. The Dorilton was sold several times over the years before becoming a housing cooperative in 1984. The exterior was restored in the late 1980s and again in the 1990s, and the interior spaces were restored in the mid-2010s.