In 1995, following a thorough restoration, the architectural historian Christopher Gray wrote that the building was "one of the most important apartment houses in the history of New York City".

[2][3] In 1708 the city began to make the Upper West Side accessible to residents by building an extension of Broadway called Bloomingdale Road.

Economic prosperity, the attractions of Central Park, expansion of the rapid transit system, and improvements in elevator technology, together with the relatively low cost of land, caused real estate speculators to put up large apartment houses, mostly, like the Dakota, on the avenues and broad crosstown streets in the neighborhood.

[11]: 290 [12]: 223 [13]: 234 [14] Often called the city's Gilded Age, the period between 1870 and 1900 was remarkable for its economic growth, for the displays of wealth by its opulent citizens, and for the dramatic expansion of its cultural activity.

[15] Newly prosperous New Yorkers began to assemble art collections, first concentrating on highly regarded European artists and then, increasingly, on paintings and sculptures by Americans.

[21] One of the strengths of the model was also a drawback: the men who formed cooperative associations had to have trust in one another, a willingness to withstand market fluctuations, and savings to invest.

[22] By the end of the 19th century so many artists had achieved economic success that one of their number, who recognized the advantages of the cooperative model, was able to find a few like-minded associates who trusted one another, tolerated risk, and were willing to join with him.

As one writer said, the ordinary practice at the time relied heavily on short-term loans, middle-man markups, and the need to insure against the risk of a deal failing before the building was opened and rented out.

"[13]: 254  As well as saving money, the artists who joined expected to obtain working and living conditions far better than traditional apartment buildings could provide.

As a writer of the time noted, artists had no say in the design or operation of the many newly built apartment houses and believed themselves compelled to pay high rents for inadequate accommodations.

Writers called him the "dean of American landscape painters",[23] described him as a "commanding figure" and "pictorial genius",[24] and concluded, shortly before his death, that he was "unquestionably one of the few great artists America has produced.

[18][27] In 1898 the group discussed options and agreed to form a corporation whose stockholders would finance, construct, occupy, and manage a new studio apartment building.

The directors were Childe Hassam, Frank DuMond, Charles Frederick Naegele, Robert Van Vorst Sewell, Sydney A. Smith, and Alan Butler Talcott.

[13]: 250  Stockholders received dividends based on the total income of the property from apartment rentals less the corporation's outlays (mortgage payments, operating expenses, and money set aside as reserve).

[39]: 483 [40] As its construction site, the corporation bought a parcel of three vacant lots in the middle of the north side of 67th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

[44] Ranger's design was more compact: a street-facing rectangular section 75 wide by 52.5 feet deep having a square extension at its back measuring 32.5 on a side.

One of them, taken with the photographer's back to the north-facing studio window, shows two levels of the duplex apartment on the south side, with balcony and stairs.

[21][36] In 1903 a reporter praised both the "great ingenuity" in design that solved both the "problem of giving each apartment a well-lighted studio large or small" and the "Chinese puzzle" of compact living spaces that produced "here a corridor, there kitchen, yonder a tiny tile-clad bathroom."

This writer also noted a "magnificent view" from the building's upper floors, Central Park to its east and the Hudson River to its west.

"[40] A lengthy review, published in the issue of Architectural Record for October 1903, called the studios "spacious, airy, and excellently lighted" and the living spaces "compact and convenient".

[13]: 248  A review in Real Estate Record, published a few months later, praised Ranger's "ingenious plan" for duplex apartments that took advantage of "every inch of available space.

"[8] Although a reporter for The New York Times said the facade was "tall and bulky and sad... not a thing of beauty",[17] other journalists generally praised the visual appeal of the new building.

[54] A few years later another writer was impressed with what he called "a beautiful building", pleasantly unlike "the usual ornate gaudy apartment house where so many New Yorkers are doomed to live".

[8] A modern writer said the entrance was "heavy-browed" and "rather imposing with the address carved into shields and a magnificent art glass lamp with tendril-like supports on a purposely undressed stone base".

[55] Another said the facade was "notable" for its Gothic detail and for "the sophistication of its molded brick windows"[47] In the first few months of its operation, the 67th Street studio building was home to 15 artist-residents.

[13]: 239  In time, it would also attract a growing number of other non-artists who appreciated its cultural ambiance and found the studio rooms useful for entertaining guests, holding meetings, and conducting classes.

[67] Notable among these residents were the short story writer Fannie Hurst,[68] choreographer George Balanchine,[69] Russian-born actress and drama teacher Maria Ouspenskaya,[70] coloratura soprano Amelita Galli-Curci,[71] and the ballet dancers Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux.

In this case the artist, a woman known for her decorated pottery as well as her miniature portraits, had included art owned by collectors as well as works she was offering for sale.

[1] Owners had made changes to their studio apartments but the exterior brickwork, entrance features, and even the green-painted window frames were intact.

Floor plans showed reconfigured locations of non-bearing walls in a manner similar to the modifications made by the building's first residents.