YI Leaders visit Westbeth Artists Housing and learn about the Meatpacking District
Nov 18, 2014
YI Leaders learn about the History of Westbeth Artists’ Housing, November 2014. Photograph by Jamie Rosenfeld
On November 18, YI Leaders visited Westbeth Artists’ Housing, a place where artists live and work. We learned about the community and the different apartments. It is a good place to live if you're an artist, but there is a forty-year waiting list, so if you want to live there, apply now! George Cominske, president of The Westbeth Artists Residents Council, spoke about the history of Westbeth and explained the architect Richard Meyer’s design. An interesting fact about the layout is that the rooms in the building have arrows on the doors that can point either up and down, and the arrow tells you which two floors the apartment is on. For instance if a door has an arrow pointing down, then the apartment is on the floor they are on and the floor below them. It is the other way around for the doors that have upward arrows. We even got to see one of the apartments. Artist Stephen Hall gave us a tour of his work space and told us about his painting practice.
Liza Zapol gives a presentation on the history of the Meatpacking District, November 2014. Photograph by Hannie Chia
After we left Westbeth, we returned to the Whitney building where former Whitney Community Programs Fellow Liza Zapol gave an outstanding presentation about the history of the Meatpacking District, from the meat to the trains to the art. This area is full of life and very interesting! We are excited to explore the area around the Whitney’s new home and learn more about the community.
By Michael, YI Leader