Spring Street Bar

Over the years, I’ve met many people who have devoted a good deal of time and effort to preserving the work of another. I am also included in this group. What drives someone to do this? Often it’s the work of a family member, or sometimes a teacher or an idol. Though altruistic, these projects are also inherently personal, and I am curious about what makes someone take on such a task. Read about how Shepherd Myers and Mariana Hellmund are each preserving photographs of old SoHo here>>

(photo: SoHo Cityscape, Summer 1975 © 2023 Isabel Barton)

Librarian, author, and critic Jesse Karp and I grew up in SoHo at the same time, born just days apart, but we somehow never met until our paths crossed at my daughter’s school, where he is Lower School Librarian. In this month’s guest post, Jesse looks back at how SoHo, as a place as well as an ethos, had a hand in shaping the person he is today. I think all you SoHo “kids” will relate to this story of growing up in a special place where the “forces of art and industry met and sparked a unique vitality.” Read more>>

Recently, I came across three short films about SoHo, Ingrid Wiegand’s “Walking,” Ming Mur-Ray’s “Surviving SoHo,” and Paul Tschinkel’s “SoHo Stories – Colette and Cindy Sherman.” Each illustrates in its own way what it was about artists’ SoHo that allowed it to flourish, albeit briefly, before gentrification crept in—a happy coincidence that presents an interesting glimpse into the everyday lives of four artists that shows us a little bit about what made artists’ SoHo tick. Read more>>