The Soft Touch Of Robert Stern
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Johannes Brahms was once taken to task for certain similarities between one of his symphonies and a symphony by Beethoven. The composer simply replied, “Well, of course, any idiot can see that!”
Robert A. M. Stern may experience the same exasperation when people look at the lofty residential tower that he designed at 15 Central Park West, between 61st and 62nd streets, and feel compelled to point out, with a trace of disparagement, his references to other, older residences along the avenue. Surely there is this obvious difference between Messrs. Stern and Brahms: The composer merely derived a certain formal inspiration from his predecessor, Mr. Stern intends for you to see the connection. More materially, the developer, Zeckendorf Realty, is banking on your propensity to see and delight in the formal continuity between this new project and its more established neighbors. Indeed, it would not be too wide of the mark to say that the appreciation of that continuity is almost the dominant formal feature of the design of 15 Central Park West.
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