[Via Wikipedia Commons]
Apparently the happy new tenant of 190 Bowery — the former Germania Bank here at Spring Street — "will keep all of the building’s historic touches from its marble wash basins to the graffiti covering the lower part of the facade," The Wall Street Journal reports today. (Subscription required for article.)
Per the Journal:
A company made up of agencies representing creative professionals in the industry of luxury and fashion image-making has signed an 11-year lease for almost 30,000 square feet of office space on floors two through six at 190 Bowery.
“We’re a very visual company and all the employees are very visual people,” said Matthew Moneypenny, the chief executive of the yet-to-be-named limited liability company that includes agencies such as image-licensing firm Trunk Archive as well as CLM and Streeters, which represent photographers, hair and makeup artists and set designers. “Companies like ours tend to thrive in places that have a soul and a history.”
Photographer Jay Maisel bought 190 Bowery in 1966 for $102,000. He recently sold it for a reported $55 million.
As for the current state of the building's exterior, we haven't walked by in awhile. How much graffiti and what not is left?
From September 2014...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Take a last look inside the mysterious 190 Bowery
These are just tags, not really decent graffiti. Maybe these investors should take an art course at SVA.
ReplyDeleteFor a second, I thought the comments might be positive.
ReplyDelete"Matthew Moneypenny"
ReplyDelete@ 10:32 AM
ReplyDeleteOr you could learn the difference between "mural" and "graffiti".
Wish I was a cool and hip visual type person. Then maybe I could see what is so great and so artistic about spray painted gibberish. Instead I am just plain old boring five senses type of dude.
ReplyDeleteWhen preserving something, how do you decide what to preserve? Do you preserve the building the way it was when it was built, or the way it was when it was desecrated?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 10:32, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteReally? It's knee-jerk negativity here, nothing based on any thought out positions.
I think this is REALLY unexpectedly great news. It's always a relief when newcomers actually notice and value the unique and original aspects of a neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteLate April Fool's joke?
ReplyDeleteOr the "art world" has become even more obscenely stupid than ever.
- East Villager
On a positive note, they will also hire homeless people full time to camp out in front of the building in order to maintain that authentic Bowery feeling of utter desolation and hopelessness.
ReplyDeleteHey, @ElleSturm: I'm glad I'm not the only person who's relieved they're not going to come in and renovate this place to the gills.
ReplyDelete(I have a BFA from Cooper Union, if we need credentials to give our judgment weight.)
Born and raised and live in the hood since 1966 - looks like crap, just like most of the tags that have returned after Bloomberg became mayor. Joe Strummer mural = adds value, this = crap.
ReplyDeleteAdds value lol.
ReplyDelete