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The Langham resembles a prototypical Parisian apartment building in design
(if not
in size), and illustrates the influence of French urban
culture on 19th and early 20th century New York.
Like a number of apartment buildings whose presence on Central Park West
is due to the pioneering Dakota, this building lacks the latter's central
courtyard. Instead, apartments are arranged around individual light
courts which provide access to light and air, but allow for a more
economical use of space. Like the Dakota, this building was meant to house the wealthy. Apartments were originally limited to four per floor. Shared amenities included a sophisticated direct mail delivery system, a central refrigeration plant that eliminated the need for iceboxes, and built-in vacuum cleaning connections to facilitate domestic maintenance.
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