Lily Hou

Lily Hou
y.ohta
Tue, 10/23/2018 - 12:17
When did you live in SoHo?

1969-1977

Where did you live in SoHo?

510 Broome Street133 Greene Street

What was your occupation when you lived in SoHo?

I was a freelance designer, photographer, and artist.

What do you miss most about SoHo in the 1970s?

Big cheap spaces! Open loft parties.

What do you miss least about SoHo in the 1970s?

No shopping - long walk to what is now Morton Williams, was Grand Union I think.

If you no longer live in SoHo, why did you leave?

Got tired of the dirt and dark, rents were going up (!) and I couldn't afford to buy a coop.

What is your most vivid SoHo memory?

Crazy mad art scene. MusArt Spiral Foods, watching the WTC buildings go up from my south facing windows, waiting for a call from Arnold about the evening's parties. How quiet it was after 5pm.

Is there anything else you would like to add to your profile?

Food restaurant, after Gordon and Carol, was part of my life for several years. Dan Mayberry was the owner, I was his unofficial partner. He left the business to Dee Smires and there the chain ends. There is a long saga of Food II, more of the SoHo food history! Dan was one of the original partners at Spring Natural when it was on Spring Street, with Joan and Julio.