The Dakota from Central Park, c. 1890 Main entrance, where John Lennon was shot The Dakota was constructed between October 25, 1880, and October 27, 1884. Henry Janeway Hardenbergh's architectural firm was commissioned to create the design for Edward Cabot Clark, head of the Singer Manufacturing Company. The building purportedly was named The Dakota because at the time of its construction, the area was sparsely inhabited and considered remote from the inhabited area of Manhattan, just as the Dakota Territory was considered remote. The earliest appearance of this story, however, was in a 1933 newspaper interview with The Dakota's long-time manager. Christopher Gray's book New York Streetscapes quotes the interaction thus: "Probably it was called 'Dakota' because it was so far west and so far north". Gray believed that the building's name stemmed from Clark's fondness for the names of the new western states and territories. The Dakota was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. British musician John Lennon, a building resident, was shot dead by Mark David Chapman outside the building on December 8, 1980. The building's facade was renovated in 2015. #thedakotabuilding #nyc #ilovenyc #nyc #nycliving #cityscapes (at Dakota Building, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSci6oNpw8G/?utm_medium=tumblr