Soho Gallery Building

Now a luxury loft building, 420 West Broadway was the epicenter of the art world in SoHo for many years housing the galleries of Leo Castelli and other leading art dealers. Formerly an deserted neighborhood of factories, these pioneers turned the industrial wasteland into a cultural destination. It was here at Sonnabend Gallery in 1969 that Vito Acconci famously masturbated under a ramped floor of the gallery for his exhibition called (the very literal) “Seedbed.” Acconci kept it “up” for two weeks, telling his sexual fantasies into a microphone which was broadcast to the viewers above him. Who would think he would move on from performance to designing schoolyards?

What: Soho Gallery Building historical site

Where: 420 West Broadway