Short Stuff: The Dakota | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

foreign. [Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I'm. Josh and there's Chuck and we're going. short stuff architectural style. specifically architectural style from. the mid to late 19th century. specifically in Manhattan on the upper. west side specifically about the Dakota. that's right can I say something very. quickly since this is short stuff sure. right before we recorded you said Dakota. Fanning and that reminded me I just got.

back from New York and I had six. celebrity sightings. one of which was Elle Fanning oh yeah. yeah she's in the the lobby of a hotel I. go on that hotel to pee. I'm always got my head on a swivel in. that town especially in fancy hotel. lobbies sure and I was like hey that's. Dakota Fanning and I was like she was. sitting with people I was like there's. got to be somebody else famous went to. the bathroom came out sitting next to. Jessica Chastain. wow pretty major sighting uh then at one.

of my pavement shows I saw uh. uh Noah bombach and Greta Gerwig. yeah I mean he co-wrote uh Barbie with. her and um uh Dean Wareham of Luna. they're all good friends and they're all. together so that was a three Banger in. one and this uh this lady near me was. jumping up and down like screaming it uh. at Greta Gerwig and she was very sweet. from up above in the balcony and like.

made the little heart symbol and like. said she loved her it was very sweet oh. that's sweet uh and then uh sat next to. Tiffany haddish on the way on the flight. home wow but she was a girl across the. aisle from me did you did you bugger the. whole time no I didn't say anything who. you like hey hey Tiffany you remember. this one joke you told that was. hilarious she's great though she's very. pretty too yeah yeah she is wonderful I. like that voice too she's got that sort. of uh low voice kind of like this. I am Tiffany haddish that's right okay.

all right we gotta go because we're. talking the Dakota here not Dakota. Fanning or L Fanning no the apartment. building in New York City that's right. the one where John Lennon was shot in. front of. him yeah he's lived there at the time no. no he lived there and he was he was shot. on the sidewalk outside the Dakota. so um that's not the only reason Dakota. is famous although it's probably the. biggest reason that Dakota is famous one. of the reasons that Dakota is famous is. because it was one of the first.

apartment buildings in New York City. like they didn't do Apartments back then. and even more spectacular than that it. being one of the first apartment. buildings is that it was plunked down in. the Upper West Side at a time when. Central Park West one of the most uh. what is it white healed high-heeled. well-heeled well-heeled uh like bits of. stretches of real estate in the world. was a dirt road still and nowhere's Phil. nowhere.

yep nobody wanted to go up that far. they're like there's nothing up there. that's right to Hay seeds and in fact it. was so far out that um the guy who built. the Dakota who will meet in a second. Edward Cabot Clark bought it from an. industrialist whose wife threatened to. divorce him if he built their house out. there and he's like all right I'll just. get rid of this piece of land then yeah. she's like I want to live down here. where it's Posh in Alphabet City you. know what's funny is if you um you. remember if you uh go read our book. there's a whole chapter on keeping up.

with the Joneses in it it talks a lot. about this part of of New York history. where there are all sorts of nowhere's. Villas around that today are just like. incredibly famous and and expensive. that's right uh all right so the Dakota. like you said people were not living in. apartments at the time they were living. in Brownstones which were single-family. homes. and uh there were a couple like a couple. started to spring up in the 1870s they. weren't great they were.

um kind of like you think of New York. apartments they were small they didn't. have a lot of light people people didn't. love renting and living in them and. Along Came this guy Edward Cabot Clark. that you mentioned he was the president. of the Singer sewing machine company so. he was loaded and he got together with. an architect named Henry Janeway. hardenberg a great name and to get into. real estate and the first thing they. built which is sadly not there anymore. is kind of a prototype for the Dakota.

called the van corlier a red brick. five-story 36 apartment building that. was on Seventh between 55th and 56th. yeah and it immediately improved on its. predecessors. um because the rooms were larger the. apartments themselves were larger there. was a courtyard so there was plenty of. like natural light and air it had. elevators apparently which like. the 1880s 1870s and there was also. um I think a uh what was there oh there.

was a ramp that went beneath it so that. that you didn't have to solely your. family reputation by accepting. deliveries out there in public you could. go down to the basement and meet the. delivery driver for to get them to take. whatever they gave you yeah and it was. just nicer overall I think there was an. intercom system and you know like. Spanish tile it was just it was just a. step up for sure and all of a sudden in. 1878 uh they rented out very quickly and.

so Clark was like all right it turns out. if you if you build it nice enough they. will come and apartments can be a real. thing and like you said bought that uh. property or I guess it was just land at. the time right yeah yeah bought this. land from Jacob Henry Schiff uh way way. uptown and uh decided to build his. second uh sort of dream property there. yep which would be the Dakota and I say. that we pause for a message break and.

then return and begin talking about the. Dakota some more. and Tiffany haddish right after this. [Music]. oh. learning things. [Music].

uh so Chuck. um we're talking about the Dakota now. starting now. okay so if the vancore leader was a an. advancement based on the stuff that came. a few years before it the Dakota was an. even better advancement or Improvement. based on the van core Lear it had big. Apartments big rooms Courtyard lots of.

light ramp underneath and all that stuff. but it was also like even more. luxuriously designed like if you came. over to someone's apartment you couldn't. see through down the hallway to every. single room the walls were kind of like. designed around so that you couldn't. like there was a separation between your. visitors and the living part of the. apartment or the sleeping part you know. the family part I guess is what you'd. call it just little details like that. um another big detail is that it had its. own power plant that generated.

electricity for it in the 1870s yeah not. bad uh the kitchens had little balconies. so if you had stinky stuff like garbage. that you couldn't get down or maybe even. stinky food or something you could put. it just right outside the kitchen which. was something that a lot of places. didn't have they had a boiler so they. had insulated pipes bringing Steam and. hot water into the building which was a. big innovation at the time and they had. tennis courts they had croquet courts it.

was a it was a real gem it still is it's. one of my favorite buildings in New York. every time I go up there to Central Park. at least I try to pop out uh on that. area and just go go give it a look uh. because it's a beautiful building it's. sort of a mishmash of styles it's been. called you know French Renaissance or. got German Gothic or even Victorian and. it's kind of a little bit of everything. but it's it's beautiful I don't think. I've ever seen it in person if I have I. I didn't realize it you may have it's.

it's lovely it's right there on a corner. so here's the thing when um Edward Cabot. Clark was creating the Dakota. he was widely derided for it they called. it Clark's Folly because people were. deeply insensitive in the 19th century. and the reason why they call it that is. because again it's in the middle of. nowhere. and people aren't really into Apartments. like we said they live in like. three-story Brownstones like they live. in homes they don't live in apartments.

the people who lived in apartments as. far as this house stuff works article. points out were widows widowers and. people who are waiting for their wealthy. relatives to die so they could inherit. their house and all of a sudden Clark is. like no no we're changing the game. anyone who is anyone is going to want to. live in an apartment and it turns out. his gamble paid off he was right yeah he. sadly he died before it uh was finished. so he didn't get to see it come to. fruition but it was certainly not his.

folly because like you said people lined. up to rent these things or I guess I. don't know were they all rentals at the. time I wonder if anyone were available. for sale I think they were all rentals. okay well people rented them but they. were people that had money they just. weren't like robber barons who wanted to. live in mansions they were they were. sort of the early New York you know. upper class they were people who like. were Bank presidents and people who like. the CEOs of the time right uh apparently. the Adams sisters were heirs to a.

chewing gum Fortune they lived there. what's that and that flavored Teaberry. one of the greatest gum flavors of all. time that's it what was it Teaberry. now are you kidding because I can't tell. no no that's for real it's like a a kind. of salmon pink colored. um no no the the wrapper is okay. um it tastes like salmon too no it's a. really delicate unique flavor and you. could probably find it like Cracker. Barrel don't they have all sorts of.

old-timey candies or one of those Rocket. Fizz places I have no idea anywhere that. sells candy I'll bet they have tea Berry. stick gum and it's really worth trying. all right okay nice tip there thanks so. uh the Dakota started a trend all of a. sudden uh luxury apartment houses. started popping up all over the place uh. kind of in the same model with like. bigger rooms and higher ceilings and. stuff like that and the Upper West Side. uh it wasn't right then but around the. early 1900s that really started to take. off and really changed the face of New.

York of New York you know they they. started building up more after World War. one obviously uh when New York said they. could and apartments became the way to. go yeah yeah. um eventually the the Dakota started. seeing a different clientele not you. know straights and squares like Bank. presidents but like stars like Lauren. McCall and Judy Garland wowie wow of. course Karloff too that's pretty cool. imagine living next to him and then of.

course two of the most famous residents. John Lennon and Yoko Ono who was widely. blamed for moving John Lennon to the. Dakota and he would have lived had she. not done that. do people say that probably somebody out. there okay poking fun at those people. I think he loved the Dakota. yeah it would seem to be his home they. were there for like a dozen years I. think right before he died uh I'm not. sure how long he loved New York City. though it was it was a great scene for. both he and Yoko yep. you got anything else.

I got nothing else go check out the. Dakota if you're in New York it's a. great great looking building yes. yes and uh since Chuck said that that. means shortstops out. stuff you should know is a production of. I heart radio for more podcasts my heart. radio visit the iHeartRadio app Apple. podcasts or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows. [Music].