This building is now luxury condominiums; it rises 18 floors. This is the building we tried to save in 2011. At 214 W. 72nd St. it is now called Parker West. The building lobby, a few sizes larger than a phone booth (remember those?) is next-door. The former Rothschild home was demolished in 2019.
The developers decided to split the space in the ground floor in half, and the first tenant to lease the space is called Ignite. During a visit on Wednesday, shoppers could find a wide variety of products. There are glass pipes galore and numerous things that one would see if you are interested in smoking. A cheerful clerk is on duty to help.
In what was once the Rothschilds ground floor, way back in 1898, there is now a cooler stocked with soda and energy drinks, racks of candy bars, and shelf upon shelf of smoking products. The vape shop snapped up this prime location. It is very close to the subway station next-door on Seventy-second Street and Broadway. The crosstown bus stop is conveniently in front of the building.
The space is narrow and long, just like the property has been for more than 120 years. In the old days, before demolition, there was a commercial space that over the years was a shoe emporium, nail salon, and Asian-style massage on the second floor. A few floors of rental apartments topped the once-graceful gray stone four-story apartment house.
Dorothy Rothschild lived here until around 1899. As we documented, the local Community Board 7 did not feel this was worthy to landmark. This is why the building is now a condominium, and the newest place for your vaping supplies on the Upper West side.
Stop by, and channel your favorite Dorothy Parker poem.