They range from modest one-bedrooms in the northern blocks to river-facing classic sevens and eights that compete with Central Park West. A genuine Hudson or park view, the floor, and the building's condition drive the price. Manhattan's median sale price was $1.25 million in the second quarter of 2026 (Miller Samuel / Elliman); Riverside Drive's larger pre-war homes sit well above it, and its smaller lines below. Michael can give you real numbers for the specific apartments you are weighing.
By the river
Apartments on Riverside Drive.
Riverside Drive is the Upper West Side's western edge, a curving boulevard that follows Riverside Park and the Hudson from 72nd Street north. Frederick Law Olmsted laid out the park and the drive in the 1870s, the drive opened in 1880, and the apartment houses that line it today went up mostly between 1900 and 1930. Nearly all of them are co-ops, and the good lines look straight at the river.
Riverside Drive
What are apartments on Riverside Drive like?
Pre-war co-ops with generous rooms, high ceilings, and, in the right line, an unobstructed view over Riverside Park to the Hudson. Some of the best-known are 50 Riverside Drive at 77th Street (1930, Gronenberg & Leuchtag), 160 Riverside at 88th (1929), and the Clarendon at 137 Riverside (1907), once William Randolph Hearst's home. The Schwab House at 73rd Street (1950) and the 1989 condominium at 222 Riverside are the rare post-war exceptions. Because the drive curves and climbs, two apartments in the same building can face very different views.
Riverside Drive trades the noise of Broadway, two blocks east, for tree canopy, river light, and quiet. With big layouts and a park at the door, it is one of the most livable addresses in Manhattan, and one of the least understood by buyers who have only seen it on a map.
What is the setting on Riverside Drive like?
Riverside Park runs beside it for four miles, with the Hudson River Greenway, playgrounds, ball fields, and the 79th Street Boat Basin below the drive. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument stands at 89th Street, the Isaac Rice mansion at 89th and the Schinasi mansion at 107th survive from the era of houses, and the blocks from 75th to 79th Street and from 87th to 94th Street are landmarked historic districts. The commercial life of the neighborhood is on Broadway, so the drive itself stays residential and calm.
Space, a real park, and a quiet block are hard to find together in Manhattan. Riverside Drive has all three while keeping you a short walk from the 1 train and everything the Upper West Side has to offer.
Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive
Are Riverside Drive apartments condos or co-ops?
Co-ops, almost without exception, which means a board package, an interview, and strong financials, in exchange for prices below comparable condos. Condominiums on the river exist mainly south of 72nd Street, where the drive becomes Riverside Boulevard and the towers of Riverside South and Waterline Square (2019) begin. If you need a condo's flexibility on the Hudson, that is where Michael will take you; if you want a pre-war home with a park in front of it, plan on the co-op process.
A walk through Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive, in light.
The buildings, blocks, and rooms that define Riverside Drive — captured on Michael's walks home.
Row houses lining a quiet residential street
A chaise beside a sunlit living room window
The Dakota, a landmark pre-war Central Park West co-op
A bedroom with a large bed and an armchair
Central Park framed by the buildings around it
A combination home — two pre-war apartments joined into one
“I walk Riverside Drive every week. Knowing the buildings from the inside is what makes the difference for whoever ends up living here.”
— Michael J. Carroll
Answers
Riverside Drive, answered
- Some do, beautifully, and some do not, depending on the building, the floor, and the line. The drive curves, the park's trees have grown tall, and the West Side Highway sits between the park and the water, so a low floor may see leaves where a high floor sees the Palisades. See the exact apartment at the time of day you would live in it before you decide.
- The 1 train under Broadway, two blocks east, with local stops at 79th, 86th, 96th (also the 2 and 3), 103rd, 110th, and 116th Streets. The M5 bus runs along the drive itself. Crosstown buses on 79th, 86th, and 96th Streets connect to Central Park West and the East Side.
- One block. Riverside Drive fronts the park and curves with the river, so it offers the views and takes the wind; West End Avenue runs straight and inland, is purely residential, and tends to be quieter still. Both are pre-war and overwhelmingly co-op, and many buildings share a historic district. Buyers usually weigh them together, and Michael compares the specific buildings rather than the street names.
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