Richard Haas' 1975 mural at 112 Prince Street
Public art was kind of a new concept in New York City in the 1970′s, so I think we were lucky to have numerous wall murals in SoHo. Actual murals, not ads for DKNY or Knob Creek. The ones that stick out in my mind were the mural at West Broadway and Houston by Jason Crum and the mural at Mercer and Houston by Dorothy Gillespie, but there were lots of others in and around the neighborhood. And then there are the two that are still up, namely, the trompe l’oeil mural by Richard Haas at Prince and Greene and, of course, “The Wall” by Forrest Myers at Broadway and Houston, which is also called “The Gateway to SoHo.”
Dorothy Gillespie mural at Houston and Mercer Streets (source unknown)
I saw the Dorothy Gillespie mural on the corner of Mercer and Houston every day. I never liked it very much, its pale, pastel colors looked faded and dull to me long before the mural actually started to fade. But the sight of it signaled that I was almost home, so I found comfort in it nonetheless. I also saw the Jason Crum mural on an almost daily basis on the way to and from school. That one, with its bright primary colors and sharp graphics, appealed more to my five-year-old’s aesthetic sensibilities.
Many of the neighborhood murals, including the Crum painting, were sponsored by City Walls, a not-for-profit organization, established in 1969 by Crum and others, that worked with artists and communities to revitalize New York City through public art.
Viewing the city as a work of art, the organization sponsored more than fifty murals by twenty-eight differnt artists. Early members and artists included Nassos Daphnis, Allan D’Arcangelo, Jason Crum, Mel Pekarsky, Tania, Robert Wiegand, and Todd Williams. Doris C. Freedman served as president of City Walls from 1971 to 1980. (from The Fales Library Guide to the Public Art Fund Archives)
Jason Crum mural sponsored by City Walls at West Broadway and Houston (photo by David Bromberg)
SoHo was not the lively hub of activity back then as it is today. The murals of City Walls and others added a much needed splash of color to an otherwise pretty drab landscape. They also introduced me to modern art in a way that was at once in-your-face and subtle. The murals were huge, colorful and hard to avoid, but they were also there, day after day, so they kind of receded to the periphery of my consciousness, melding with the rest of my surroundings. Such is the power of public art.
Nowadays, it is too lucrative to sell wall space in SoHo to advertisers for building owners to pass up offers in the interest of beautification. In this way, wall murals have become an art form seen only in low-income neighborhoods, where the alternative to artwork is a blank wall. And thus, at least in SoHo, the wall mural has been supplanted by the billboard. Such is the power of commerce.
Listen to this great discussion of public art on the show “Artists in the City” from WNYC on August 23, 1970 hosted by Doris Freedman, with Jason Crum and Alan D’Arcangelo (from New York Public Radio):
THE WALL (1973) by Forrest Myers on Houston at Broadway
Mel Pekarsky mural sponsored by City Walls at Lafayette and Bleecker Streets
Mel Pekarsky's 1972 mural sponsored by City Walls on Houston between Crosby and Lafayette (photo by David Bromberg)
Closeup of Pekarsky mural (photo by David Bromberg)
Tags: City Walls, Doris C. Freedman, Dorothy Gillespie, Forrest Myers, Jason Crum, Mel Pekarsky, New York 1970's, Public Art, Robert Haas, SoHo 1970's, WNYC Artists in the City
April 8, 2011 at 4:13 pm |
The kitty in the window was always a highlight for me, at the 112 Prince mural!
April 8, 2011 at 9:43 pm |
Me too! I always looked for it. Though I haven’t seen it lately. Is it still there, or perhaps it’s now obscured by graffiti?
April 8, 2011 at 4:21 pm |
By the way, who did the mural above Gristidies on Greene st? Thats one the last murals standing from that era too.
April 8, 2011 at 9:50 pm |
That mural was by Tania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_(artist)), a Polish-American artist and founding member of City Walls. Her mural at Third Street and Mercer is one of the last-remaining City Walls murals.
October 5, 2011 at 8:11 am |
Love that one too. So glad its still there.
April 8, 2011 at 4:31 pm |
Another interesting topic would be the graffiti alleys of Soho.
Oh yeah and also the Flea market that used to be on Broadway and the two on Canal.
And also all the cool old little shops that used to be on Canal.
And the playground, before NYU built their gym there on Greene and Houston.
Oh yeah, and the Grand Union!
LOL
April 8, 2011 at 9:52 pm |
Thanks for all of the great ideas. I’ve started writing a post on the playground, a BIG part of my childhood. Does anyone happen to remember if NYU promised us another playground in the place of the one they razed to build Coles?
April 9, 2011 at 10:50 am |
Yes, and therein lies the scandal.
As part of the deal to build Coles (NYU needed special zoning permits), NYU promised the community use of a playground on top of Coles (as well as use of the gym itself).
NYU built the playground on the roof, and you can see the equipment on the Houston Street side, but provided no stairs to enable the public to access it, except by entering Coles – which is generally off-limits to the public. Catch-22 anyone?
NYU also had built a smaller sandlot playground inside the I.M. Pei towers, at Greene and Houston. It was primarily for use by its tenants in the towers, but NYU closed it about ten years ago.
Now, NYU wants to demolish Coles, take over that long strip of land on Mercer that contains the dog run and closed-off sitting/sitting area and small playground from Dept of Transportation, and build on this larger land area its “Zipper” Building, which will be as high as 26- stories.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/03/24/nyus_greenwich_village_expansion_plans_from_the_ground_up.php#more
NYU wants to replace the dog run inside the I.M. Pei complex and add a playground there. Cynically, I guess to win over the parents, NYU has opened the sandlot playground on Houston/Greene this week after closing it for a decade. I guess they are trying to win over parents to support their proposal to build the God-awful Zipper Building on Mercer.
Finally, although NYU promised adults in the community use of Coles, admission hours are so restricted as to be useless as a regular gym, being accessible only a few hours on the weekend.
Remember all this when NYU gives promises and asks for permits to build the Zipper Building next year. The SoHo Alliance is working with community groups in Greenwich Village who oppose NYU’s scheme.
Feel free to add yourself onto our email list to stay informed.
April 9, 2011 at 10:23 pm |
I remember the promise of a rooftop playground as well. And finally someone with a bit more authority has confirmed this! And thank you for filling us in on the current Zipper Building situation!
April 10, 2011 at 1:32 pm |
Ahhh, big deal….my real playground was the twisted metal sculptures in the triangle on Broome between thompson and W. Bdway, anyway! LOL
July 18, 2011 at 2:14 pm |
I grew up on Broome at Wooster. Remember the pepper factory on Broome and W. Broadway?
July 20, 2011 at 9:53 pm
I don’t remember it! On which corner? I’ll try to look it up…
July 26, 2011 at 2:49 pm
The corner direct across from the Broome St Bar. In the morning the pepper smell hit you like a brick. Soho was a very differnt place in the 70s. I know how lucky I was to be there when the artists were
October 5, 2011 at 8:10 am
Yes! It always smelled like pepper! It was the NE corner of West Broadway & Broome. And at some point that mural went up. I think it said something like “The best artist in the world – Rene”.
April 15, 2011 at 9:06 pm |
I may have drifted a few blocks off your beat, but this mural perhaps deserves recognition also:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dboo/5261450859/in/set-72157625500638358/
April 16, 2011 at 11:10 pm |
I do not know where this is (although I’d guess it was somewhere in the area where Chinatown and Little Italy intersect, but it was done by City Arts (http://www.cityarts.org/), an organization that brings children and professional artists together to create public art.
April 15, 2011 at 9:08 pm |
Any clues as to this one?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dboo/5264597011/in/set-72157625500638358/
April 16, 2011 at 11:12 pm |
I don’t know where this one is (was) either, though I’d guess maybe alphabet city(???), but it’s called Chi Lai Arriba Rise Up, and it was also done by City Arts.
April 17, 2011 at 2:35 pm |
I believe both are on Madison Street, at 130 and 191.
July 17, 2011 at 6:49 pm |
As a kid I went with my uncle Jason Crum and watched theses paintings come to be. I miss him and the walls every time I am on Houston
July 25, 2011 at 6:52 pm |
Jason Crum was a friend of mine many years ego. I lost touch with
him, but a small painting that he gave me hangs next to my desk at home. I wonder what happened to him.
Janos
July 26, 2011 at 8:24 am |
Jason moved from his W. Broadway loft to Colorado where he painted and raised his son. He taught art at the University of Southern California off and on. He passed on and is buried on an artist community in Colorado. Great to hear you still have one of his paintings. They are rare and hard to find. His brother David is still painting and lives on 1st St at 1st Ave
August 16, 2011 at 3:25 pm |
Jason also had[I hope still does, havent been in in NYC for several years]a wall painting on Church St in Lower manhattan. This wall painting was one of the few that was maintained over the years. Ther was also one in east village [close to 7th and C?] and several in the Bronx. Actually Jason’s left behind many quality paintings which are, I’m sure, for sale.
August 16, 2011 at 4:43 pm |
I will check to see if they are still there. I hope so!
August 16, 2011 at 5:46 pm |
The last ime I saw the one in east village it was badly deteriorated…and that was many years ago. The one on Church St is great, it has sharp angular lines and many colors[black, blue, red , yellow, white, if memory serves.
August 16, 2011 at 7:15 pm |
The one in the East Village[we called it Alphabet City back then, no where near chic] was in a vacant lot in the middle of the block, not sure exactly which street?6th?7th?
August 17, 2011 at 2:37 pm |
Here’s an interesting link.
http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=1318
August 25, 2011 at 8:45 am |
http://popartxpert.blogspot.com/2011/08/jason-crum-1933-2005.html
I met Jason vvhen I moved to US. I also spent a lot of time vvith him in the Veteran’s Hospital in LA as he vvas alone and nobody vvas visiting him. I bought fevv peintings of his that I took back to Romania vvith me vvhen I relocated.
Before he got into the hospital ( initially because a motorcycle accident, and then cancer vvas discovered) I photographed most of his vvork that he had in his manager’s apartment off Melrose in LA.
If you guys are interested to kovv more about him, contact me, vve vvare good friends despite the age difference.
alpannart@yahoo.com
August 26, 2011 at 9:24 pm |
Wow, so glad you were there for him. I was only able to get there myself[dont live close] once. Jason had family and friends in LA sorry to hear they werent there. Kinda karma for Jason that a relative stranger spent time with him at that time. He actually was a frequent visitor of Woody Guthrie during his last days in a hospital in NYC. I’ll send you an email. I’m at baycraftsman@yahoo.com
December 29, 2011 at 11:12 am |
[...] Place opposite the spinning cube and overlooked the entryway to the East Village. It was one of many murals from City Walls, a collective artistic endeavor resulting in massive painted walls from the Village [...]
December 29, 2011 at 11:14 am |
This post is linked in an article at CURBED NY published today, 29 December 2011, about the mural ” … in the Astor Bar” by Robert Wiegand at 441 Lafayette near Astor Place:
Erasing Noho’s Artistic Past Where Matt Damon Used to Hang
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/12/29/erasing_nohos_artistic_past_where_matt_damon_used_to_hang.php#lafayette-noho-robert-wiegand-mural-2
December 30, 2011 at 6:46 pm |
wondering why the Haas mural on Prince isn’t being maintained.
it’s in sad shape. anyone know?
December 31, 2011 at 8:23 am |
The cost is very prohibitive to repaint it, likely in the hundred of thousands.
The building owner reached out to the SoHo Alliance recently to see what could be done. We met with the Landmarks Preservation Commission who were supportive, but, again, no funds.
There was some concern that Camper shoes that owns the adjacent corner building was going to construct a multi-story building that would obscure the mural. However, with the recent extensive renovation of their existing one-story building, that likely won’t happen for a while.
Again, money is the problem. Know an angel?
December 31, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Sean, who put up the money to re-do Frosty Meyer’s mural? I presumed there was a fund attachted to City Walls. naive . can you reccommend other sources for researching soho ca. 1970?
you remember when the Soho Library was there instead of Camper, no doubt.
December 31, 2011 at 3:00 pm
The owner of the building, 599 Bdwy, went to court to remove the artwork and install a billboard.
As part of the agreement, after years of legal work, the arrangement was that a billboard could go up (at street level), The Wall would remain, and the owner paid to restore and maintain the artwork (presumably from the revenues from the billboard).
Yes, I recall the old art librarary. Before that there was some kind of pizzeria or deli or sandwich shop, catering to the factory workers.