the dakota

The Dakota is a co-op apartment building located at the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in New York City.

Allegedly, the reason it was called the Dakota is because when it was constructed in 1880, the Upper West Side was considered as open and remote as Dakota territory.

John Lennon moved here in 1973, and was murdered outside the building by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980.

The Dakota also served for the sweeping exterior shots of the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. In the film, the building is called "The Bramford" and has a troubled past associated with the occult, baby murders, and witchcraft.

The Dakota building was well known for its show business inhabitants. Director Roman Polanski initially thought the interiors to be to new and clean to be appropriate for the film, but that became a moot point once the building owners refused to allow interior shooting.