Jay Maisel’s Iconic NYC 190 Bowery Building Reportedly Up For Sale

Photographer Jay Maisel has spent the past five decades living, working and exhibiting his work in the iconic building at 190 Bowery in Manhattan that he calls home. A home which, according to a report by Crain’s, is up for sale on RFR Realty. Details, however, are scarce as both Maisel and RFR are keeping pretty quiet.

Erected in 1898 as the third location of Germania Bank, 109 Bowery witnessed a slow decay as the Bowery district transformed from ‘Little Germany’ to a low-income section of Manhattan. Eventually, the building fell completely out of use, and was shortly thereafter purchased by Maisel for the sum of $102,000 (roughly $750,400 in today’s money).

Since being purchased almost 50 years ago, New York Magazine reports that Maisel’s 37,000 square-foot, 72-room home has been a living place for famed artist Roy Lichtenstein, a gallery for his own photographic work and as of 2008, and a home for his wife and daughter.

The official website for 190 Bowery is a one-page site that links out to the New York Magazine article, as well as the Wikipedia article on the famed building. And contradictory to the listing on RFR Realty, the website clearly states that the building is not for sale, specifically noting:

PLEASE NOTE: The building is not for sale, and there is no space in the building for rent. Any real estate-related emails will be ignored.

It’s difficult to find any hard facts, as both sides have kept quiet, but with the property page posted on RFR, complete with a broad floor-plan, it looks like RFR has indeed broken the not-for-sale warning… and will make a pretty penny doing it.

According to Crain’s report, in 2008, the grafitti-adorned building was worth upwards of $50 million. So… anybody looking for a place in Manhattan?

(via American Photo Magazine)

Image credits: Germania Bank Building by Jonathan Dawkins (left photo in header)