190 Bowery might not be a recognizable address, but it is an instantly recognizable structure, with its curiously unchanging, ramshackle appearance in the midsts of the progressively chichi Bowery. News now is that it may be on the market for the first time in 50 years. The building's story is the stuff of city lore: the former German bank built around 1890 fell into disrepair (along with much of the neighborhood) and was purchased by artist Jay Maisel as a gallery space and home for $102,000 in 1966. For nearly 50 years, Maisel and his family have commanded the entire 37,000-square-foot building, but for the occasional studio renter, which included esteemed artist Roy Lichtenstein. Now, Crain's reports the building has made a quiet entrance onto the website for Aby Rosen's RFR Realty. Its purpose on the site is unclear yet, but Crain's believes that it is being marketed as a contender for a full-building commercial tenant or for retail and offices. Although RFR Realty is a real estate holding company, there are no records (at least yet) to indicate the building's sale. To whet the appetite, 2008 estimates of the property's value bounced around the $50 million mark.
New York Magazine profiled the home and the Maisels in 2008, and still have some of the only views inside of it to-date.
· Photographer's home hits market ... or does it? [Crain's]
· The 72-Room Bohemian Dream House [NYM]
· All 190 Bowery coverage [Curbed]
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