Inside the checkered history of the real-life buildings that inspired the splendor and scandal of the Arconia from 'Only Murders in the Building'

Upon being finished in 1909, the Belnord was thought to be one of the largest in the country — if not the world — complete with a half-acre interior courtyard touted as the biggest in Manhattan.

Some notable residents of the building include Academy award-winning actor Walter Matthau, Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Lee Strasberg, dubbed the father of method acting, who was often visited by his protégé Marilyn Monroe.

A little over half a century after it was finished, the Belnord was plagued by poor maintenance — the limestone exterior was crumbling, ceilings were collapsing, and the vast courtyard had become an overgrown jungle. Even stalactites had formed in the basement, The Times reported in 1980.

Source: The New York Times

Management of the building was doing no better than its deteriorating exterior. Owner Lillian Seril would refuse to fix the simplest of issues in the building — forcing some residents to bring their own refrigerators when appliances were broken — and even sued tenants and the landlord association after she was ejected from the organization.

Seril's bad rap as landlord of the property sparked, in 1978, what became the longest rent strike in the city's history, ending in 1994 after 38-year-old developer Gary Barnett bought the building. But Barnett couldn't even save the building after he stopped making mortgage payments, prompting the city to classify the Belnord as "distressed."

Source: The New York Times

A new group of investors took over after Barnett's Belnord got a makeover, converting the building into the high-end luxury condominiums that it's known for today. The architect who spearheaded the renovation dubbed it as "a very high-class Botox treatment."

Though the popular whodunit mystery show was filmed at the Belnord, another nearby apartment building could easily serve as inspiration for the Arconia's outrageous and salacious nature — the hotel-turned-lavish-residency the Ansonia.

The 17-story building houses around 400 units comparable in magnificence to the Belnord — a 3,000-plus square-foot, four-bed, three-bath unit in the building is listed for almost $9,000,000. Previous tenants include baseball hall-of-famer Babe Ruth and boxer Jack Dempsey.

Source: Vanity Fair

New Yorker William Earl Dodge Stokes set his sights on the Ansonia in the late 1800s, which at that point was nestled on a block of boarding houses and taverns. And the land he purchased to develop the property on previously belonged to the New York Orphan Asylum.

When the building was finished in 1904, the Ansonia's over-the-top splendor was complete with a Turkish baths, bank, barbershop, and tailor on-site — even live seals in the fountain.

But fountain-dwelling seals weren't the only animals to grace the grounds of the Ansonia. Stokes himself owned four geese and a pig as pets, while the roof became home to ducks, six goats, a bear, and 500 chickens. The Department of Health called Stokes' wildlife operation "farm in the sky" in 1907, though he continued to illegally house animals in the property.

Source: Vanity Fair

Apart from hundreds of live animals, the Ansonia also was home to some dodgy characters as well, including infamous racketeer Al Adams, aka the "Meanest Man in New York," who was found dead by a bullet in Suite 1579. His death was ultimately deemed a suicide, though the coroner initially said he was murdered. The prime suspect? Stokes, over an unpaid debt.

Though Stokes dodged the bullet of responsibility for Adams' death, he was shot three times in the legs by his 22-year-old showgirl mistress, Lillian Graham. She claimed the Ansonia proprietor attacked her for refusing to return his racy love letters, but Stokes claimed she shot him because he refused to comply with her blackmail request for $25,000.

Sources: Vanity Fair, The New York Times

On top of a literal murder in the building, the Ansonia also served as the venue where the deal to rig the 1919 World Series took place. Chick Gandil, first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, reportedly met with someone who worked for gambling king Arnold "The Big Bankroll" Rothstein to cut a $20,000 deal to throw the World Series against Cincinnati Reds, in a debacle that shook the sports world dubbed the "Black Sox Scandal."

After Stokes died of pneumonia, he passed down the hotel to his son, who had little interest in the property and sold it to a landlord who later declared bankruptcy. The property was later auctioned and bought by Jacob Starr for a measly $500,000 — though the local sign maker had no intention of keeping up the property and instead turn it into a business venture.

Sources: Vanity Fair, The New York Times

In the 1960s, Starr leased the building to actor Steve Ostrow, who turned the hotel's basement swimming pool into the world's most influential gay cabaret club known as the Continental Baths, with performers including Barry Manilow and Bette Midler.

Sources: Vanity Fair, The Guardian

After the Continental Baths closed in 1977, infamous swinger's sex club Plato's Retreat opened in its stead, featuring "clothes" optional disco, a 50-person jacuzzi, and a backgammon lounge.

As time took its toll on the Ansonia, the residents fought to preserve the building after Starr refused to maintain it, eventually appealing to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the building. Investors swarmed the building in the 1970s, buying out disgruntled residents and turning the property into the luxury condominiums its known for today.