It's owners versus acolytes in the beef over Dorothy Parker's childhood home at 72nd and Broadway. The owners, who say it's a "rundown mess" after construction of next door neighbor and rental sensation The Corner, want to tear it down and replace the 1890 five-story masonry building with new 12-story apartment building. Scholars studying the legacy of the quintessential, sharp-tongued New York writer, however, are divided. The Parkers lived in several Upper West Side homes when Dorothy was a child and 214 West 72nd is the most dilapidated. Biographer Marion Meade thinks Parker herself would want it razed: "The family's wealth made for a comfortable life, but the 72nd Street building wasn't a place of happy memories. The writer's mother died [there], and Parker, who later attempted suicide and struggled with alcoholism, spent her entire life trying to overcome the trauma." It's a lot to fit on a commemorative plaque, that's for sure.
·
Dorothy Parker Scholars Split on Whether Her Home is Worth Saving [DNAInfo]
· The Corner coverage [Curbed]
Filed under:
Loading comments...