SoHo (“South of Houston Street”)
began its journey toward hipness in the 1950s, when artists discovered the
low-priced lofts available in the area’s abundant 19th century cast-iron-façade
buildings. What this architectural type meant to the artsy crowd, who clamored
for these former warehouse spaces, was more room and more light, due to the
thin walls supported by interior columns, and the ubiquitous high, arched
windows. During SoHo’s transition from warehouse district to artists
enclave, these spaces were going for literally fire-sale prices because the
area (then known as “Hell’s Hundred Acres”) was recuperating
from multiple blazes.
As time went on, wealthier residents moved in and drove up the prices of
loft apartments and condominiums, seeking to be part of the bohemian chic
of this artist colony. As could be predicted, gentrification pushed out the
starving artists who called the neighborhood home. They’ve now been
replaced by those—artists or otherwise—who can afford the million-dollar-plus
price tags for loft living.
It’s easy to understand why people pay such high prices, even though
the area is full of tourists on the weekend and can be noisy. The architecture
of the ornate cast-iron buildings and cobblestone streets invoke an old-world
ambience. And if you like to shop at upscale retailers, such as Tiffany &
Co. and Prada, or at swanky smaller boutiques, you can find them here. Galleries
still occupy the neighborhood, in spite of the fact that high prices drove
many of their competitors into Tribeca and
beyond. These galleries, and the upscale artists who can still afford to live
here, are all that remain of the artist colony that was once SoHo.
