New York City, New York story
A Room Full of Earth
Tucked away in a SoHo loft at 141 Wooster Street, there's a room that defies every rule of city living. Since 1977, the New York Earth Room has held a massive interior sculpture:…
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Tucked away in a SoHo loft at 141 Wooster Street, there's a room that defies every rule of city living. Since 1977, the New York Earth Room has held a massive interior sculpture: 250 cubic yards of earth spread across 3,600 square feet. It's exactly 22 inches deep.
Imagine walking into an apartment and finding the floor replaced by a vast, raw landscape of soil. Created by Walter de Maria, it's the largest version of his Earth Room series and has been a permanent, free public installation since 1980. In a neighborhood known for polished galleries and high-end shopping, this space brings the wild, silent weight of the outdoors directly inside the city's concrete heart.
Updated June 2026