The New York Earth Room

I think the Earth Room is a gigantic Rorschach test. Well done, De Maria.
I don’t have to describe the actual features of The Earth Room since previous reviewers make note of a lot of dirt.
I was on Wooster St with my sister to check out a sample sale when my subconscious bookmarking mechanism poked me and reminded me that I was standing under several thousand pounds of Earth. Anyway, we decided to check it out.
So what was my reaction? I can’t share that information since my impression belies any… what?
Well done, De Maria.
I do not recommend visiting this place if you are in an inebriated or otherwise compromised state. There is a very long and steep flight of stairs. This is still SoHo, after all.

140 tons of dirt on a second floor flat await your questions and contemplation in SoHo. Exciting!
3,000+ sq. ft. of space, 2.5 feet deep in rich, moist dirt, and white walls.
We were the only ones there… except for the friendly attendant.
Us: Where did the dirt come from?
Attendant: I don’t know. The exhibit was built in the 80s.
Us: How did they get 140 tons of dirt up here?
Attendant: I don’t know.
Us: Hmm… Does the white wall jutting into the middle of the room represent people disrupting nature?
Attendant: I don’t know.
Us: Why is the dirt wet?
Attendant: A guy comes in once a week and waters it so it doesn’t dry up and get dusty.
Us: It looks like there are patterns in the dirt.
Attendant: Yeah, sometimes the guy rakes patterns… I guess he gets bored.
Ten minutes of your time and you may have a good story.
Just don’t take Kudzu seeds…

Why not visit a free art exhibit in SoHo? We went on a Saturday at 2:30pm. Pressed the door button for 2B and heard the door buzz to be opened. Walked up the narrow stair to the second floor and started to smell and feel the humidity of the space as we got closer.
For those who don’t know how to approach abstract art like this, take it as a chance to be introspective and self-​observant. Use all of your senses, observe how you feel, what you think, and what questions are raised for you. WTF, OMG, and SMH are all equally valid emotional responses. The fact that you HAVE a response– even if it’s a confused one– is part of the experience.
What might you think about when you look at a space full of dirt?
— it feels humid in here, it must get watered
— it smells kind of moldy, but it’s not moldy
— it looks textured as if it’s raked regularly
— how do they prevent things from growing
— it seems filled in just to window height
— does dirt get added over time
— this has been here for 35 years
— current rents on a space like this are crazy
— did they build the smaller room as part of the space or was that there to begin with
— how does the dirt affect the rest of the materials in the space
Then you may start getting more esoteric:
— it feels very much «alive» as if it is breathing, not static or stale
— seems fluffy and fresh for an old pile of dirt
— this artist has passed, but this dirt remains
Luckily, there’s always a museum attendant available to answer your questions and dialogue with about your musings– no matter how strange.
(I only deducted a star because the elevator access doesn’t seem to be readily available for exhibit visitors with physical limitations.)

Smells great, and is exactly the reprieve you need when walking around SOHO.

If you’re walking through Soho, check it out. It IS just a very large room filled with soil, but its free, its unique, and its been there since 1977. It takes a whole 3 minutes of your time. Discover those weird, quirky things scattered around NYC.

We were excited to visit Soho and the wonderful art that it has to offer and the thoughts it provokes. This review based on my experience, feelings, and thoughts provoked on my attempt to see the Earth Room.
NOT the Earth Room itself or its intent. Please visit if you are curious.
What can a room filled with dirt offer you? You never know until you visit, see it, and feel it! Maybe I would get a new appreciation for life? Touch the dirt in hopes of having some emotional rush? Unfortunately, we never made it that far for the experience as excited as we were. Instead we got to meet the man who operated the floor that day, and also a lady who lived in the building.
It was our first visit to Soho and we had just finished lunch. We were jolly and excited as we went looking for the Earth Room in Soho. The entrance to the earth room looks like a normal apartment except if you look closely you will see it along side with all the other apartment numbers. Having never rang one of these doorbells on a door for apartments, we were very nervous and little confused. Luckily, a women came out of the building, so we politely asked her how we would go about visiting the Earth Room.
We were greeted with a grim stare. After a moment she mentioned we should probably ring the door bell. We followed her directions, but there was no answer. So we rang it a few more times obnoxiously.
About five minutes after, a man came out causing the lady to react with an «oh». From her look and reaction we assumed he operated the floor so we proceeded to ask him politely. He completely ignored us as if we were a complete nuisance, and then finally reluctantly pointed to the plaque on the door never even once, making eye contact. Then the man and woman left us while making some small talk.
The experience left us somewhat humiliated and confused. He had been incredibility rude, and I suppose in our excitement also have been inconsiderate to him as well. The experience tested all our tolerance and understanding, although it felt literally like a punch in the face and somewhat ruined our afternoon.
The Earth Room was not worth returning for us.
The Dirt Room had succeeded in making us feel like dirt.

Not impressed. I went to see a pile of dirt on NY day and couldn’t get in. I was rejected by a pile of dirt. #Ouch?
Website said you’d be open, but alas, you were not.
Sign said you’d be open at 12… came back at 12. and again at 1 PM.
We made friends with the other earth room rejects… that’s a positive.
Overall, I’m disappointed in myself that I have been so deeply upset by a pile of dirt. I judge myself.

Very weird, but definitely unique. I mean, it’s free. Stop by if you are in SoHo. I brought friends visiting from Miami. They have never seen anything like it!

Ok it is not amazing, but it is free and unique. It has tons of dirt in one of NYC most expensive real estate. Worth coming if you are near SoHo.

It’s a room. Filled with dirt. But it’s free.
When my friend and I went we were the only two there. There was something special to be said about the silence and the presence created by the exhibit, and I think Interesting discussions could be discussed by the meaning and the ideas evoked by it.
If it’s a pain in the ass for you to get to soho, make sure you have other plans for the day if deciding to come and see this. I think it will take 20 minutes (tops) To view it.

This is a room full of dirt. It looks like this:
dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt
So if you want to see that, go check it out. It has an interesting sound-​muffling effect. I heard they sometimes churn up mushrooms when they’re stirring the dirt or whatever. Also, it’s free. Unique? Modern art is weird. So at least it’s free. I’m giving it four stars to support the arts and also because it has very few four star reviews compared to five and three star reviews. That’s, like, my own little artistic move. I am influencing the ratings chart on Unilocal as a form of artistic expression. That’s what I’m doing.
The Earth Room is not open year-​round or every day. Every time I try to take someone there, it’s closed. Just my bad luck, not their fault, but you should check ahead of time if you actually want to go there on purpose. Maybe plan a trip to the Apple Store or something. Or bring a date there «randomly» and kiss her/​him in front of the dirt. Just some ideas. Some folks bring their dogs. I don’t care for the word «folks,» but I’m trying to write with more variety. The Earth Room does not have variety. It just has dirt. See above for a preview.

Beautiful, unique & remarkable. Love the fact that almost everyone that experiences Walter De Maria – a founding father of minimalist and conceptual art – Earth Room agree with the New York Times: «The piece, which recreates one the artist first executed in Munich in 1968, exudes a slightly moist, muffling atmosphere and affords a sight so surreally, deliriously startling as to be simultaneously ridiculous and sublime.»
De Maria passed away earlier this year, his obit in the Times notes he played with Lou Reed in a precursor band to The Velvet Underground. Interesting guy!
As for the negativity about the fact that people are making and displaying art instead of feeding the poor (?!?) wonder if they look at all Cathedrals, Synagogues, Mosques and Churches (whose stated mission often actually is alleviating human suffering) and think of the colossal «waste» of money, time and real estate those edifices represent.
It made me think of Genesis 3:19: By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou sustain thyself, till thou return to be buried in the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

I had to see this just to experience the extravagant wastefulness of a dirt filled room in pricey Soho. I knew what to expect, but even then, it was disappointing. I guess the whole concept of it is mind boggling, like those art installations that consist of burning Hermes Birkin bags or smashing Iphones.
It was just so plain and quiet. It was musky smelling and nothing was growing in the dirt. At least it was free. I think it’d be more interesting if they put in chairs or something — then people could go there more often and enjoy the solitude. But as an attraction, there’s nothing attractive about it. Not even if you’re in the area.
If you’re interested in Walter de Maria’s work, you could go a couple blocks down to see The Broken Kilometer, which was much better looking in my opinion.

I went to every FREE cool thing I could find in NYC and this item definitely piqued my interest.
Don’t make the same mistake I did: the gallery that operates this loft is in Chelsea but the actual Earth Room is in SoHo. It also closes for a short period around lunch so don’t walk up at 12:01pm with a big ‘dirt’-eating smile on your face only to be wiped off after you’ve rung the buzzer 300 times and then realized they’ll be back at 1pm.
After you finally work your way through the technicalities, it’s time to get in there and look at some dirt.
Now, the actual dirt-​filled loft is pretty cool — first of all, it smells so fresh and well Earthy and second, your mind delights in the math of the whole thing (how many SQ. FT. of dirt is this? How many feet high is it? Wow that’s a lot of dirt! and other quantitative and qualitative statements like this will be firing in your brain like illegal fireworks on the 5^th of July), and finally, you might even ponder the existential aspects of it. Lord knows, I didn’t!

Stuart summed it up.
This place should be an embarrassment. Instead it’s a novelty to people apparently straining for things to do with their free time. Visiting this place is akin to watching someone burn hundreds of dollar bills before your eyes without even any political message, just because they can spare the money for such perverted kicks.
This apartment purposely shelters no one, forcibly grows nothing. Meanwhile people, children are malnourished, homeless, really dirt-​poor. Of course this is always an unfortunate fact of life but it’s especially ironic while gazing at this monstrous waste.
Folks get paranoid about being labeled a philistine for not embracing everything with the label «art» but a decadent expensive pile of shit is still just a pile of shit.

FREE! Saw this in the Lonely Planet Guidebook: NY Earth Room a room filled with moist dirt! We got there 3:25pm and had to wait, I think it’s when the people maning the room go on lunch so sometimes they don’t come back on time. You wouldn’t want to either if that’s all you did all day.
We had 2 girls that came back about 3:35pm. Had to wait until they went up and then open the door for us. We had to take the stairs to the 2^nd Fl.
Sign said No Photography! A room knee-​high filled with just DIRT, nothing else. It was kinda interesting. No mold probably cuz of the paint & they check it daily or something like that.
Worth checking out if in the area.
Hrs: Wed-​Sun 12−6pm, Closed from 3 – 3:30pm.
Website:

Let’s get dirty! It’s Free.
In this city, we spend most of our lives standing on concrete, sitting on concrete and looking at… concrete. We visit our public parks to breath in organic aromas, shapes and textures.
So, what would a trip to the park look like… indoors? Sure you could visit the Botanical Gardens’ greenhouses. You could even bring home cut flowers to your living room.
They’re beautiful, but in their structure, they don’t express the vibrant chaos of nature.
For me, The Earth Room explores the unbridled and untamed beauty of nature… unleashed in a NYC apartment. Just as a river shapes the land, this apartment space shapes 250 cubic yards of sweet, sun-​kissed top soil.
When you visit, savor the quiet of the space.
Close your eyes, and breathe in the warm notes of rich earth.
It’s like no other room in the city.

Hmm… honestly we don’t know how many stars we should give this place… it’s a room full of dirt… seriously… nothing here but just a guy who was watching the place & just dirt… tons of dirt…
We just don’t get it…

New York is known for many things, a lot of which doesn’t always make sense, but we accept with open hearts and arms.
Take, for example, a huge room in SoHo that has been filled with dirt since 1977. A room full of dirt that for me, existed 6 years before I did, and is still around.
This is definitely one of those little gems that you should take out-​of-​towners to! There is definitely money to be made here. I mean, try betting someone that you can show them a room full of dirt, for free, amidst some of the most expensive real estate in the world!

Perfect