Inside New York City's Most Mysterious Architectural Time Capsule

[ND-Dem]

Last edited Thu Mar 19, 2015, 01:32 PM - Edit history (1)

For the past half century, 190 Bowery has been a legend. The six-story, 72-room former bank building on the fringes of SoHo looked like a war zone on the outside, crumbling and covered in graffiti. And the inside, the home of a photographer with insane real estate luck—well—nobody really knew what was inside. Until now.

Animal New York editor Bucky Turco recently spent three days inside 190 Bowery in a crazy attempt to capture the bohemian paradise before the building's new owner shredded its historic interior. The former owner, street photography icon Jay Maisel, had bought the building for $102,000 way back in 1966 when the Bowery was still a bit of a cesspool. But after spending decades saying no to money-hungry developers—after 190 Bowery served as Roy Lichtenstein's studio and its walls as Keith Haring's canvas—Maisel finally sold the 35,000-square-foot building for a cool $55 million. Now, the historic building will blend in with the rest of its recently gentrified surroundings...

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--FRpTDO1e--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/lxdkv3ftuq6gx3nmmhbu.jpg

http://gizmodo.com/inside-new-york-citys-most-mysterious-architectural-tim-1692121535

I owned 190 Bowery for 3 days

http://animalnewyork.com/2015/adventures-trespassing-owned-190-bowery-three-days/

The Bowery (1891)

Oh! The night that I struck New York
I went out for a quiet walk
Folks who are "on to" the city say
Better by far that I took Broadway
But I was out to enjoy the sights
There was the Bow'ry ablaze with lights
I had one of the devil's own nights
I'll never go there any more

The Bowery! the Bowery!
They say such things and they do strange things
On the Bowery! The Bowery!
I'll never go there any more

http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/t/thebowery.shtml

[ND-Dem]

1. kick

[ND-Dem]

2. kick

[hifiguy]

3. Nice return on investment.

Fascinating building. Hope the cool parts of the interior are saved.

[Brigid]

4. Fascinating.

I wonder what the interior will look like when construction is completed. I wonder how long it will take.

A few years ago, someone posted a story about an apartment in Paris that had been closed up since its Jewish owner fled at the beginning of WWII and never returned. The pictures were great.

[ND-Dem]

5. I saw that one too. Did you see this one?

The WWI Soldier’s Room That Hasn’t Changed in Almost 100 Years

French Dragoons officer Hubert Rochereau died in an English field ambulance during WWI almost 100 years ago and in tribute to their lost son, his parents left his room untouched ever since.

Even today, with the soldier dead since April 26, 1918, even with his parents long under the sod, even with new owners, the soldier’s room in his old home in Bélâbre, France, has remained exactly as the Second Lieutenant left it when he went off to war.

- See more at: http://www.libertynews.com/2014/12/photos-the-wwi-soldiers-room-that-hasnt-changed-in-almost-100-years/#sthash.rbdqhbwy.dpuf

[Brigid]

6. No, I hadn't.

But they're going to have to do something soon if they want to preserve it, or there won't be much left.

[Caretha]

7. Beautiful building

I hope who bought it will treasure & preserve the wonderful features of this building.