The Wall Gateway to SoHo Forrest Myers wide

''The Wall'', also known as ''The Gateway to Soho'', is a piece of

minimalist art Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or conc ...

that was constructed in the

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was part of the building that stands at 599

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

until 2002 when the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(LPC) gave the owners permission to take it down so the interior wall could be repaired. The artwork has since been re-installed.

The artwork

''The Wall'' was built in 1973 by

Forrest Myers Forrest Warden Myers, also known as Frosty Myers (born 1941 in Long Beach, California) is an American sculptor. He is best known for his pieces ''Moon Museum'' (1969) and ''The Wall'' (1973), the latter being a monumental wall sculpture in the So ...

under a $2,000 commission by the now defunct City Walls, Inc. It consists of "42 aluminum bars bolted to 42 steel braces, painted green against a blue background" and takes up 3/4 of the building's wall that it resides on. It stands about 8 stories high.

Removal and re-installation

The owners of 599 Broadway complained to the LPC in 1997 that the artwork had caused the wall it was mounted on to leak into the building, and that it had caused structural damage. The LPC finally allowed the removal of the artwork in 2002 under the condition that the owners put the art back up after work was completed. In September 2004 the owners were sued by the city to replace the wall.

US District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

Judge Deborah Batts threw out the initial defense by the owners that the wall was an infringement of their

First Amendment rights The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the f ...

. In May 2005, however, Judge Batts ruled that the City was violating the owners' Fifth Amendment rights, and that the city could not force the owners to maintain the wall. However, if the city did decide to go through with an order to replace the wall, it would owe the owners fair compensation for the wall's construction. In April 2007, the City and owners announced a deal whereby the exterior of the building would be increased by 30 feet, so that the artwork could be installed higher, allowing for street level

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

space. Without the artwork, the owners estimated that the wall could generate up to $600,000 in advertising

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

a year.

References

;Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wall Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan Minimalism Aluminum sculptures in New York City Steel sculptures in New York City 1973 sculptures SoHo, Manhattan