SoHo: The Rise and Fall of an Artist's Colony Book

The Rise and Fall of Artist's Soho documents how a little-known industrial neighborhood in New York unintentionally became-for a brief period-a lexus of creative activity. Part personal memoir, part cultural history, the book examines how a group of urban pioneers were able to transform a neighborhood, while also creating new and classic works of American art, music, dance, and theater.Taking advantage of loft occupancy laws that allowed artists to live in buildings not available to the general public, a band of enterprising and creative people began settling in New York's SoHo (so called because it lies South of Houston Street), renovating previously industrial spaces for personal living and work space. Fueled by word-of-mouth-and unsupported either by local or national governments or wealthy individuals-the area grew to be a center for artistic creation. This book not only discusses how the artists came and why, it also focuses on some of the most creative, describing both their lives and work.Such an ideal situation-totally unplanned-could not last forever; the author shows how market forces squeezed out this art utopia, to be replaced by a shadow of itself, "SoMall," with the coming of trendy chain stores, boutiques, and restaurants. European tourists crowd the streets, but the real SoHo is long gone, never to be recreated in quite the same way again.For anyone interested in the history of New York's Bohemian neighborhoods or the art and culture of the last 3 decades, SoHo is must reading.Read More