Is there a more famed downtown building than 190 Bowery? The Beaux Arts building was originally constructed in 1898 and was designed to be the grand home of Germania Bank. In the seventy years that followed Germania, the building lived many lives – from bank to [alleged] bath house. 190 Bowery’s notorious graffiti covered exterior went from being considered obscene to fully preserved as a city landmark. All the while the interior remained a mystery. But in recent years New Yorker’s finally came to learn that an astounding amount of the building’s original interior details remained. These pieces of living history include the brass mail slots + wide mahogany moldings, the original Otis elevator copper cage and a slew of other architectural prizes laced throughout it’s hallowed halls. A piece of New York history and you can be a part of it with their doors open to private events in the building’s expansive second floor loft.
