A small chapter in the age-old battle between art and commerce was settled a few years ago when “The Wall”, a Soho landmark art installation at 599 Broadway corner of Houston was returned to its rightful place, albeit 18 feet higher.
You can read the entire story here:
Basically this was about a large brick wall in a busy Soho intersection unable to sell advertising space because the art covered the exterior square footage.
From the NYTimes:
“The original owner of 599 Broadway, Charles Tannenbaum, commissioned [the] work as a way of disguising an eyesore — naked joists that once were attached to a neighboring building that had been torn down. As its reputation grew, it became known as “The Gateway to SoHo.”
Installed in 1973, it was taken down for building repairs in 2002 but the reinstallation was blocked by the building owners. A seven year trip through the federal courts (sigh) and everyone agreed to put it back 18 feet higher so sidewalk level advertising could produce a revenue stream projected at $600,000 a year.
You can still see the vestigial sawn-off stubs of the “eyesore joists” that compelled this commission in the first place.
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