Architecture Richard Meier Perry Street New York City

Let's take a trip down memory lane to 2002 when Richard Meier's 173/176 Perry Street was the talk of the town in New York City. During years of collecting, we have amassed a pretty impressive selection of magazines, catalogs and rare books about modern design and architecture. We just uncovered a a pretty substantial sales brochure which was sent to us by Richard Meier & Partners back in the late fall of 2000. White letters on a Tiffany-style blue background, perhaps because they were reaching for the same clientele.


The sales brochure of Richard Meier's 173/176 Perry Street including three floor plans and a sheet with stickers so you could design your own apartment. There was even a Piano sticker, just in case Elton John would call.


In those days, neither Wholefoods or Trader Joe's was in New York yet and Balducci's in Greenwich Village was one of the best places to shop in lower Manhattan, perhaps together with Gourmet Garage in SoHo. A year after Richard Meier's 173/176 Perry Street buildings went up, Balducci closed their doors, something that even Richard Meier could not have anticipated.

Richard Meier's 173/176 Perry Street was one of the first new modern buildings to break ground along the Hudson River in New York City. And, it was also the first project for Richard Meier in New York City. Richard Meier eventually would move on to make another very similar building at 165 Charles Street which would feature even more amenities including a swimming pool.

It is hard to imagine but back in 2000, the meat market was still pretty much an actual meat market. There were plenty of abandoned buildings everywhere. And plenty of illegal activity especially at night. There was no Vitra yet, no Stella McCartney, no Jeffrey, no Alexander and no Carlos Miele. In fact, most of those buildings were boarded up and it looked like a ghost town. But everything changed in the blink of an eye and now, it looks like Disneyland for adults including its very own Apple store.

Back in 2000/20002, 173/176 Perry Street would generate plenty of buzz because it was attracting a lot of high-flyers. Nicole Kidman purchased a 4,000 square feet apartment for around $8 million. Calvin Klein took it up a notch and paid an astounding $20 million for a three-floor penthouse in the South tower. Martha Stewart got in on the action as well and paid an estimated $6 million for two floors on the North tower. Other famous people who purchases space in Richard Meier's 173/176 Perry Street were Vincent Gallo and Rita Schrager (former wife of Ian Schrager). And all that money was just for "raw space"!