Editing The Dakota (section)

==== Hallways, elevators, and stairs ====
The passageways from the courtyard lead to ground-level spaces with wooden paneling and marble [[wainscoting]].<ref name="NPS (1976) p. 2" /><ref name="Reynolds p. 229" /><ref name="Alpern p. 126">{{Harvnb|Batter|1964|p=98}}; {{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=126}}</ref> Between the first and second stories, the walls of the staircases are wainscoted with marble. The hallways on the upper stories are wainscoted in wood, while the ceilings and walls are made of plaster.<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> Because the Dakota was one of the city's earliest luxury apartment buildings, the floor plans resembled those of traditional row houses.<ref name="Alpern p. 52" /><ref name="nyt-2017-11-17">{{Cite news |last=Lasky |first=Julie |date=November 17, 2017 |title=A Peek Inside Some of New York's Most Glamorous Apartments |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/realestate/peek-inside-new-york-citys-glamorous-apartments.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226173717/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/realestate/peek-inside-new-york-citys-glamorous-apartments.html |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Consequently, the hallways were generally long and narrow at the Dakota, compared with later developments such as [[998 Fifth Avenue]].<ref name="nyt-2017-11-17" /> In any case, because the Dakota had four entrances with their own elevators and stairs, there were very few public hallways on the upper stories.<ref name="Cromley p. 154">{{harvnb|Cromley|1990|p=154|ps=.}}</ref> This gave residents a feeling of privacy, since tenants were largely separated both from each other and from servants.<ref name="Cromley pp. 154-145">{{harvnb|Cromley|1990|pp=154–155|ps=.}}</ref>

The interior has eight elevators, four each for residents and servants.<ref name="Hawes p. 97" /> At each corner of the courtyard, four wrought-bronze staircases and four residents' elevators lead from the entrances to the upper stories.<ref name="NPS (1976) p. 2" /><ref name="Reynolds p. 229" /> Each corner of the building has a brick shaft with one elevator and one staircase;<ref name="nyt-1884-10-22" /><ref name="NPS (1976) p. 5" /> this roughly divides the Dakota into quadrants.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 564" /><ref name="Cromley p. 154" /> The tenants' staircases contained marble treads.<ref name="NPS (1976) p. 2" /> The elevator cabs were manufactured by [[Otis Worldwide|Otis Elevators]] and were finished in mahogany.<ref>{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1959|p=129}}; {{harvnb|Alpern|2015|ps=.|p=134}}</ref> In the original plans, each elevator served two apartments per floor.<ref name="Alpern p. 52" /><ref name="Cromley p. 154" /> Each elevator served a small foyer on each floor that provided access to the two apartments.<ref name="Cromley p. 154" /> These foyers were intended to be "almost as private and convenient" as entrances to typical brownstone row houses.<ref name="Alpern p. 52" /> In some cases, an elevator served only one apartment on a floor, so the elevator doors opened directly into that tenant's foyer.<ref name="Cromley p. 154" />

In place of [[dumbwaiter]]s,<ref name="Alpern p. 51" /> the building contains four service elevators and four iron staircases for servants.<ref name="nyt-1884-10-22" /><ref name="NPS (1976) p. 6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1976|ps=.|p=6}}</ref> The service elevators and staircases are placed near the center of each side of the courtyard.<ref name="Cromley pp. 154-145" /> Each service stair and elevator served two apartments per floor.<ref name="Alpern p. 52" /> The service elevators, among the first in the city, lead to the kitchens of the apartments.<ref name="NYCL-0280" /><ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref name="Reynolds p. 229" /> All of the elevators were originally hydraulic cabs with water tanks at the bottom.<ref name="nyt-1959-09-07">{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Nan |date=September 7, 1959 |title=The Fabulous Dakota Remains Symbol of Elegant Apartment Living Here; West Side Structure Was Opened in '81 – Cost $2,000,000 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/09/07/archives/the-fabulous-dakota-remains-symbol-of-elegant-apartment-living-here.html |access-date=May 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512183341/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/09/07/archives/the-fabulous-dakota-remains-symbol-of-elegant-apartment-living-here.html |url-status=live}}</ref>