Ivo Shandor

55 Central Park West, the building said to be designed by Ivo Shandor in Ghostbusters

Ivo Shandor is a fictional character mentioned in the 1984 film Ghostbusters. He was an insane, early 20th century architect and physician, with a penchant for performing macabre and unnecessary surgeries. In the film he is said to have designed the high rise apartment building at 55 Central Park West as a giant altar to the Sumerian god Gozer. The entire premise is fictional, as the building in question was designed by architects Schwartz & Gross for contractor Edgar Levy. Shandor never actually appeared in either Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters II. His entire background is explained in two scenes, by the Ghostbusters, looking over Shandor's blueprints for the apartment building at 55 Central Park West.

Character

In the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Shandor is stated as the architect for the building at 55 Central Park West, an apartment building that is described as "Spook Central." The first mention of the unusual nature of the building comes in a scene featuring Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). Traveling in Ecto-1 Stantz examined the building's blueprints and described the roof as having been "fabricated with a magnesium-tungsten alloy." Stantz goes on to note that the building has "cold-riveted girders with cores of pure selenium." Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) further describes the building's "roof cap" as "exactly like the kind of telemetry tracker NASA uses to identify dead pulsars in deep space." When Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), remarks "they don't build 'em like they used to," Stantz hints that the architect of the building may have been insane when he says that "the architect was either a certified genius or authentic wacko." Aykroyd, as Stantz, describes the skyscraper as an antenna for "pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence".

Stantz (Aykroyd) was the Ghostbuster who noted the building's architect was an "I. Shandor," as he looked over the blueprints while in jail for environmental violations related to the Ghostbusters business. Immediately, Spengler (Ramis) recognized the name as one he had seen in "Tobin's Spirit Guide." In the film, Spengler and Stantz went on to explain Shandor's background. Shandor, described as an architect and doctor by trade, decided that after World War I society was too sick to survive. He, and his over 1000 purported followers, worshipped the ancient Sumerian god Gozer, also fictional, and performed rituals on the roof of 55 Central Park West; "bizarre rituals," intended to bring about the end of the world. As a medical doctor, Shandor is said, in the film, to have performed a lot of "unnecessary surgery."

Shandor's original scheme came to fruition, during the events of the film, in the 1980s, when sufficient energy was collected to cause Gozer's minions to physically manifest in preparation for the opening of the portal for their master, Gozer the Gozerian. Unfortunately for Shandor, the Ghostbusters foiled Gozer's entry and neutralized the god. Early storyboarding for the movie, along with the casting of Paul Reubens as Gozer, indicated that Sumerian god was to take the form of Ivo Shandor, as a thin man in a business suit. This was eventually scrapped due to recasting.

Shandor Building

The apartment building shown in the film was actually 55 Central Park West, an art deco structure designed by Schwartz & Gross for contractor Edgar Levy. In the film Shandor is said to have started his secret society, which performed rituals on the building's roof, as early as 1920. The building at 55 Central Park West was not built until 1929. Since the movie used the building in 1984 it has been known as the "Ghostbusters Building," though it was portrayed as much taller in the film.

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