Then/Now: How can a site-specific artwork enrich our appreciation of the environment?

Long before the Meatpacking District was the fashionable neighborhood that it is today—or a meatpacking district, for that matter—it was home to the Lenape people, a Dutch territory, and part of an English colony. A thriving maritime industry followed, and piers were built along the waterfront to receive ships from all over the world. Gordon Matta-Clark’s Day’s End (1975) was the artist’s way of repurposing a little piece of New York City history. David Hammons’s Day’s End (2014–21) similarly invites visitors to think about the past, present, and future of the local neighborhood.

69 Gansevoort Street

A black-and-white photo of a storefront with large lettering that reads "R & L Lunch".

69 Gansevoort Street, 1938. Photography by Sol Libsohn (1914-2001) for Federal Art Project. Museum of the City of New York. 43.131.6.180

A black-and-white photo of a storefront with large lettering that reads "R & L Lunch".

1938

A storefront with large lettering that reads R&L Restaurant.

69 Gansevoort Street, 2020. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A storefront with large lettering that reads R&L Restaurant.

2020

Gansevoort Plaza

A building-level view of Gansevoort Plaza before it was renovated for pedestrians.

Gansevoort Plaza, 1999. Image courtesy of Project for Public Spaces

A building-level view of Gansevoort Plaza before it was renovated for pedestrians.

1999

A series of buildings surround the open Gansevoort Plaza, which features a series of open-seating tables with red umbrellas.

Gansevoort Plaza, 2020. Photograph by Brake Through Media and Iri Greco

A series of buildings surround the open Gansevoort Plaza, which features a series of open-seating tables with red umbrellas.

2020

Washington St. and Little West 12th St.

A street view of Washington Street and Little West 12th Street

Washington Street and Little West 12th Street, 1980s. Collection of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

A street view of Washington Street and Little West 12th Street

1980s

A view of Washington Street & Little West 12th Street during the daytime.

Washington Street and Little West 12th Street, 2020. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A view of Washington Street & Little West 12th Street during the daytime.

2019

Chelsea Market Passage/Nabisco Factory

A train passes through the Chelsea Market Passage.

Chelsea Market Passage, the High Line, 1950s. Photograph by Ed Doyle

A train passes through the Chelsea Market Passage.

Undated

A view from The High Line of a large brown building.

Chelsea Market Passage, the High Line, 2020. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A view from The High Line of a large brown building.

2019

Gansevoort and Washington Streets

A building with heavy writing on its exterior in what is now the location of The Whitney Museum.

Gansevoort Street and Washington Street, Gansevoort Pumphouse, c. 2000. Collection of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

A building with heavy writing on its exterior in what is now the location of The Whitney Museum.

2000

The Whitney Museum just behind the entrance to the High Line.

Gansevoort Street and Washington Street, Whitney Museum of American Art, 2020. Photograph by Filip Wolak

The Whitney Museum just behind the entrance to the High Line.

2015

Pier 52

A view of Pier 52 across the water.

SS Kronprinz Wilhelm at Pier 52 (detail), c. 1901. Museum of the City of New York, 93.1.1.13637

A view of Pier 52 across the water.

1901

A view of Pier 52 from across the North River.

Pier 52, North River, 1951. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. New York Public Library Digital Collections

A view of Pier 52 from across the North River.

1951

Day's End

A view of Pier 52 from across the water.

Gordon Matta-Clark, Day’s End (Pier 52) (Exterior with Ice), 1975. Color photograph, 1029 × 794 mm. © Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

A view of Pier 52 from across the water.

Gordon Matta-Clark, 1975

Birds-eye view of large steel sculpture in the shape of a building outline, extending from the Manhattan shoreline into the Hudson River, with a view of the New Jersey skyline in the background.

David Hammons, Day’s End, 2014–21. Stainless steel and precast concrete, 52 × 325 × 65 ft. (15.9 × 99 × 20 m) overall. © David Hammons. Photograph by Timothy Schenck

Birds-eye view of large steel sculpture in the shape of a building outline, extending from the Manhattan shoreline into the Hudson River, with a view of the New Jersey skyline in the background.

David Hammons, 2021

Additional Resources

6sqft: Images of the Meatpacking District in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Forgotten New York: Historical images of the Meatpacking District.