778 Park Avenue is a luxury residential building located in the
Upper East Side Historic District on the north east corner of
73rd Street and
Park Avenue. The 18-story English Renaissance apartment house, was designed by
Rosario Candela who is widely considered to have been America's greatest designer of luxury apartment buildings. It was built in 1931 and is one of the most coveted buildings in
New York City. It has a four-story limestone base.[1] In 1983 it won the first annual Excellence in Conservation Award from
Friends of the Upper East Side.[2]
The building's ground floor maisonette, which also boasts its own private, and symmetrical, address – 73
East 73rd Street – entertained legions of New York City's elite as the headquarters for high-society conservatism with the home's hosts.[3]
Veronica Cooper (née Balfe) married actor
Gary Cooper on December 15, 1933, at her mother's home in the very exclusive
coop; the wedding had been planned for the
Waldorf Astoria hotel, but the location was probably changed to avoid public attention.
In popular culture
The building has been mentioned in James Trager's literary book titled Park Avenue, Street of Dreams[4] and Kirk Henckles' and Anne Walker's book titled Life at the Top: New York's Exceptional Apartment Buildings.[5]