The Upper West Side is a neighborhood located in Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River and bordering Morningside Heights, Central Park and Midtown West.
Primarily a residential and shopping area, the Upper West Side has traditionally been home to New York's more prominent liberal cultural and artistic workers. The Upper West Side is known for its preponderance of gourmet restaurants and markets but is particularly famous for its desirable brick and brownstone apartment buildings. The most notable of these are the Dakota (home to John Lennon and many other celebrities), the Art Deco Century Apartments on Central Park West and the Beaux-Arts Belnord, Apthorp and Dorilton buildings on Broadway.