[Via Wikipedia Commons]
Yes, that graffiti-filled one at the corner of Spring Street … long a source of mystery!
In 2008, New York had what is believed to be the media's one and only inside look at the place:
The building at 190 Bowery is a mystery: a graffiti-covered Gilded Age relic, with a beat-up wooden door that looks like it hasn’t been opened since La Guardia was mayor. A few years ago, that described a lot of the neighborhood, but with the Bowery Hotel and the New Museum, the Rogan and John Varvatos boutiques, 190 is now an anomaly, not the norm. Why isn’t some developer turning it into luxury condos?
Because Jay Maisel, the photographer who bought it 42 years ago for $102,000, still lives there, with his wife, Linda Adam Maisel, and daughter, Amanda. It isn’t a decrepit ruin; 190 Bowery is a six-story, 72-room, 35,000-square-foot (depending on how you measure) single-family home.
Anyway, Crain's New York is reporting that the circa-1898 building has been listed at RFR Realty. ("The ground and second floors have 18-foot ceiling heights and are ideal for retail use.")
But is it really for sale? Per Crain's: "RFR declined to comment and the photographer, Jay Maisel, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the fate of the ornate six-story, granite and brick building."
Real-estate experts figured the landmarked would fetch $50 million on the open market. And those were 2008 estimates.