80y. SoHo Historic District
A.K.A.: SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District
Location: roughly bounded by West Broadway, Houston, Crosby, and Canal Streets
Built: from early 1800s to today; most cast-irons date from 1870s
Architects: multiple
National Register Number: 78001883
Listed: June 29, 1978
Visited: June 21, 24, and 26; August 8 and 31, 2008
Additional Information: LPC Landmark Designation Report
The photo above should actually be rotated clockwise ninety degrees, but I prefer it this way: instead of hoist beams (an echo of New York's early industrial life?), these metal projections look like alien sentries facing the dawn. They form part of Forrest Myers' 1973 sculpture The Wall, the perfect introduction to SoHo, should you be entering it from the North on Broadway. It says to the world in secret handshake language:
THE SOHO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WELCOMES YOU
HOME OF WEIRD ARTSY SHIT SINCE THE '50S
KIWANIS/AMERICAN LEGION/KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
The artwork consists of 42 aluminum beams affixed to 42 steel braces on the north side of 599-601 Broadway (J. Odell Whitenach, 1917). The braces support the building as its neighbors aren't there anymore, demolished during the construction of an IND subway line during the 1930s. As Christopher Gray notes, right from the beginnning the walls left bare after the mass demolition were put to use as highly lucrative spots for advertising, a public role they still fulfill to this day. Beginning in 1997, the owners of 599-601 Broadway made overtures to remove the sculpture, in large part because they wanted to pimp out the wall for what was estimated to be $600,000 worth of annual ad revenue. The sculpture was dismantled and put into storage, the typical maelstrom of legal battles ensued, blah blah blah, it was all very protracted and knotty. And finally, in 2007, a deal was reached which allowed The Wall to be restored, albeit with smaller ads towards the bottom. From I've seen, they're considerably more subtle than the glib gaping Calvin Klein and DKNY eye-darts I'm used to round these parts: back in June, when I took most of the photography for this blog's SoHo entries, there were all-yellow mini-billboards announcing the new IKEA Brooklyn, proving an excellent color complement to The Wall's blues and teals: say what you will about IKEA (I like them!), the ad agency responsible actually put a little thought into making the ads respectful of their context.
Unless you're a rock critic friend of mine--or, well, gay like me--I suspect you don't care much about disco. But I do, I care very deeply about it: it's been inexhaustible inspiration on every front. So I cannot fail to mention that in December 1974, not long after The Wall was installed, the second floor of 599-601 Broadway became home to The Flamingo, a disco with an ultra-restrictive entrance policy: to be a club member, you'd have to pay $600 bucks a year (something like $2,000+ today!) and get the recommendation of three other members. The building's other side, 172 Mercer Street, hosted the even-more-illustrious The Gallery, where Nicky Siano, Larry Levan, and Frankie Knuckles ruled the roost from 1974 to 1977: can't even begin to tell you here why they matter, it’s like trying to tell a stranger ’bout rock and roll.
Location: roughly bounded by West Broadway, Houston, Crosby, and Canal Streets
Built: from early 1800s to today; most cast-irons date from 1870s
Architects: multiple
National Register Number: 78001883
Listed: June 29, 1978
Visited: June 21, 24, and 26; August 8 and 31, 2008
Additional Information: LPC Landmark Designation Report
The photo above should actually be rotated clockwise ninety degrees, but I prefer it this way: instead of hoist beams (an echo of New York's early industrial life?), these metal projections look like alien sentries facing the dawn. They form part of Forrest Myers' 1973 sculpture The Wall, the perfect introduction to SoHo, should you be entering it from the North on Broadway. It says to the world in secret handshake language:
THE SOHO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WELCOMES YOU
HOME OF WEIRD ARTSY SHIT SINCE THE '50S
KIWANIS/AMERICAN LEGION/KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
The artwork consists of 42 aluminum beams affixed to 42 steel braces on the north side of 599-601 Broadway (J. Odell Whitenach, 1917). The braces support the building as its neighbors aren't there anymore, demolished during the construction of an IND subway line during the 1930s. As Christopher Gray notes, right from the beginnning the walls left bare after the mass demolition were put to use as highly lucrative spots for advertising, a public role they still fulfill to this day. Beginning in 1997, the owners of 599-601 Broadway made overtures to remove the sculpture, in large part because they wanted to pimp out the wall for what was estimated to be $600,000 worth of annual ad revenue. The sculpture was dismantled and put into storage, the typical maelstrom of legal battles ensued, blah blah blah, it was all very protracted and knotty. And finally, in 2007, a deal was reached which allowed The Wall to be restored, albeit with smaller ads towards the bottom. From I've seen, they're considerably more subtle than the glib gaping Calvin Klein and DKNY eye-darts I'm used to round these parts: back in June, when I took most of the photography for this blog's SoHo entries, there were all-yellow mini-billboards announcing the new IKEA Brooklyn, proving an excellent color complement to The Wall's blues and teals: say what you will about IKEA (I like them!), the ad agency responsible actually put a little thought into making the ads respectful of their context.
Unless you're a rock critic friend of mine--or, well, gay like me--I suspect you don't care much about disco. But I do, I care very deeply about it: it's been inexhaustible inspiration on every front. So I cannot fail to mention that in December 1974, not long after The Wall was installed, the second floor of 599-601 Broadway became home to The Flamingo, a disco with an ultra-restrictive entrance policy: to be a club member, you'd have to pay $600 bucks a year (something like $2,000+ today!) and get the recommendation of three other members. The building's other side, 172 Mercer Street, hosted the even-more-illustrious The Gallery, where Nicky Siano, Larry Levan, and Frankie Knuckles ruled the roost from 1974 to 1977: can't even begin to tell you here why they matter, it’s like trying to tell a stranger ’bout rock and roll.
Labels: Forrest Myers, J. Odell Whitenach, SoHo
posted by Michael at
11:44 PM
1 Comments:
Hello Michael, do you work for MAS? If not, had you thought about starting a walking tour club?
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