The Level Club
253 West 73rd Street · Upper West Side, Manhattan
The Level Club is a 19-story, 159-residence condominium at 253 West 73rd Street, built in 1925-27 as a Masonic clubhouse and hotel and converted to condos in 1984.
At a glance
- Type
- Condominium
- Built
- 1925-27; converted to condos in 1984
- Height
- 19 stories
- Residences
- 159
- Architect
- Clinton & Russell, Wells, Holton & George
- Service
- Full-time doorman, concierge, live-in super
- Amenities
- Double-height historic lobby, children's playroom, laundry room, bike room
- Pets
- Allowed
- Landmark status
- West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension; National Register of Historic Places
A Masonic clubhouse modeled on King Solomon's Temple
The Level Club, a Masonic organization founded in 1919 and by the mid-1920s claiming some 4,000 members, built this clubhouse and hotel on West 73rd Street in 1925-27 at a reported cost of $4.3 million. Designed by Clinton & Russell, Wells, Holton & George, it was intended as the first solely Masonic hotel and clubhouse in the world, with hotel rooms, a ballroom and banquet hall, dining rooms, a library, a gymnasium, squash and handball courts, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, bowling alleys, and a roof garden.
The Romanesque Revival facade of tan brick, cast stone, and terra cotta rises from a two-story granite base through a series of setbacks to two towers. Between them stand monumental columns resting on corbels carved as the heads of King Solomon and Hiram Abiff and topped by bronze globes, and the walls carry Masonic symbols such as the all-seeing eye, the hourglass, the level, and the beehive. The sculpture was an early commission of Rene P. Chambellan, who became one of New York's best-known architectural sculptors.
The club was overextended almost from the start. Foreclosure proceedings began in 1930 and the building was sold in 1931, then operated as the Hotel Lismore, the Riverside Plaza Hotel (1936-76, an SRO by the 1970s), and Riverside House, a Phoenix House facility (1976-82). It was bought in 1982, reopened as the Level Club condominium in 1983-84, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and included in the West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension in 2013.
Josh's view of The Level Club
What you won't find on a listing portal, in Josh's own words.
Who it suits
West Side charm at its finest! This was a former Masonic clubhouse inspired by King Solomon's Temple.
Buying here
A great location, a short walk from Central Park West, Lincoln Center, and some of the best museums in Manhattan.
The best lines
The E line is very nice. Make sure to snap one up if it hits the market. Those don't last long!
Mistakes buyers make
New construction is great, but it will never have the charm of a prewar condo building such as the Level Club.
What a listing won't tell you
The history you feel when walking into this building. It's a sight to see!
Inside The Level Club
The towers and globe-topped columns from West 73rd Street.
Living at The Level Club
The Level Club sits midblock on a tree-lined stretch of West 73rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, just west of the Ansonia and across from 19th-century row houses. Verdi Square and the 72nd Street subway station are about a block away, with Riverside Park to the west and Central Park, Lincoln Center, and the American Museum of Natural History within a 10- to 12-minute walk.
- 72 St station (1, 2, 3) at Broadway and West 72nd Street, about 0.14 mile; 79 St (1) about 0.3 mile; 72 St (B, C) at Central Park West about 0.47 mile
- Riverside Park about 0.25 mile west; Central Park (West 72nd Street entrance at Central Park West) about 0.5 mile east
- Henry Hudson Parkway access at West 72nd Street and Riverside Drive, about 0.3 mile
- The Ansonia and the Beacon Theatre on Broadway next door; Lincoln Center about 0.5 mile; American Museum of Natural History about 0.5 mile; Mount Sinai West about 0.75 mile
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Open the tool →Sources: NYC Department of City Planning, PLUTO (NYC Open Data, dataset 64uk-42ks), BBL 1-01165-7501 · NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, West End-Collegiate Historic District Extension Designation Report (June 25, 2013), building profile for 253 West 73rd Street · LANDMARK WEST!, 253 West 73rd Street building profile · LANDMARK WEST!, 253 West 73rd Street (Level Club) · The New York Times, "F.Y.I." (December 25, 1994) · The New York Times City Room, "Big Deal: Penthouse at Level Club Is Relisted" (September 30, 2011) · National Park Service, NPGallery, National Register of Historic Places, Level Club (ref. 84002784, listed April 9, 1984) · Wikipedia, The Level Club · CityRealty, The Level Club review · StreetEasy, The Level Club Condo building page · Compass, The Level Club Condo building page · Corcoran, Level Club building page · NYC Department of Finance, ACRIS Real Property Legals (NYC Open Data 8h5j-fqxa), borough 1, block 1165, condo unit lots · NYC Department of Finance, ACRIS Real Property Master (NYC Open Data bnx9-e6tj), DEED documents
Photos: Photo by Jim.henderson, Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped · Photo by CVB, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped
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