New York City, New York story
A Room of Earth
Tucked away in a SoHo loft at 141 Wooster Street is one of the city's strangest sights: a room filled entirely with dirt. Created by Walter de Maria and installed in 1977, the New…
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Tucked away in a SoHo loft at 141 Wooster Street is one of the city's strangest sights: a room filled entirely with dirt. Created by Walter de Maria and installed in 1977, the New York Earth Room is a massive interior sculpture. Imagine 250 cubic yards of earth spread over 3,600 square feet, reaching a depth of 22 inches.
It's the largest version of de Maria's Earth Room series, and since 1980, it has been maintained as a permanent, free public installation. It's a stark, silent contrast to the bustling fashion boutiques and galleries of SoHo, bringing the raw outdoors inside a city apartment.
Updated June 2026