The Ardsley, 1931. Completed in 1931 the building remained "The Ardsley," though it was a very different structure. Designed by famed Art Deco architect Emery Roth, the now 22- story building was a Mayan inspired Deco masterpiece. Because of the changes in zoning in 1916, taller buildings were required to include setbacks for increased light and air. Roth took this requirement and ran with, creating ziggurat-like setbacks decorated with Mayan style motifs and executed in black brick on a beige facade. The apartments within were smaller and less extravagant than the ones in the previous building (large rooms but no servants quarters). The exception to this was the triplex on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd floors. This 11-room suite included 15-foot ceilings and a wood-burning fireplace in every room. Its occupants also had access to a wrap-around terrace on the 21st floor and two terraces on the 22nd floor.

Often overlooked, doors are perhaps the most important feature of a building. They are the means by which we escape the often crowded and chaotic streets of the city. Every building has one (well, maybe except for the Raymond Street Jail which was accidentally constructed in 1836 sans front door), but some outfit this largely utilitarian feature with more panache than others. This collection highlights some the city's loveliest historic doorways, from the simple but classic columns of early 19th century Federal rowhouses to the gloriously geometric brickwork of Art Deco apartment houses, and everything in-between.

The Ardsley, 1928. Built in 1900 and designed by George W. Keister, the ten-story apartment building was a grand apartment house. The rounded bays of the Central Park West facade allowed for excellent views of the Park and for ideal cross ventilation. The individual apartments were massive with six to twelve rooms; some apartments had three bathrooms. Other features included private telephones, electric lighting and individual "refrigeration plants." But the gilded, over the top 19th century style of the building was, by the 1920s, passé. The older Victorian style buildings of Central Park West began to be demolished and in their place, sleek Art Deco style buildings were rising.

The Ardsley, 320 Central Park West. Door detail, ca. 1990.