{"id":636236,"date":"2026-03-06T11:41:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636236\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T11:41:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:41:52","slug":"soho-loft-of-nyt-critic-john-rockwell-has-walls-of-cds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636236\/","title":{"rendered":"Soho Loft of NYT Critic John Rockwell Has Walls of CDs"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

For the music critic John Rockwell, Soho was an ideal home base. He could walk to see performances by Meredith Monk or Steve Reich in lofts that didn\u2019t look so different from the one he lived in at 543 Broadway. A Philip Glass concert, on Wooster Street in 1973, seemed, in Rockwell\u2019s words<\/a>, to be almost designed for the neighborhood to hear while\u00a0strolling past, with its \u201cmotoric rhythms, burbling, highly amplified figurations and mournful sustained notes booming out through the huge black windows.\u201d Later, in 1988, Rockwell interviewed<\/a> Robert Wilson and David Byrne from the latter\u2019s kitchen table\u00a0\u2014\u00a0also in Soho.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The open living area.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

Rockwell covered music, dance, theater, film, books, and art for the New York Times, eventually running the \u201cArts & Leisure\u201d section and serving as the paper\u2019s cultural correspondent in Europe. He also hosted a WNYC show on culture<\/a> (Rockwell Matters), oversaw the Lincoln Center Festival, and wrote books \u2014 a career in the arts that largely unfolded while he lived at No. 543.\u00a0The ten-story, 1903<\/a> industrial building stretches all the way back to Mercer and was overtaken by artists in the 1970s. Gale Ormiston ran a dance company<\/a> at 543; dancer Luise Wykell invited<\/a> the public to an \u201cevening of energy exploration\u201d in 1981; and Gaetano Pesce<\/a> named a whimsical chair<\/a> after his home address.<\/p>\n

Price: <\/strong>$4.5 million<\/p>\n

Specs: <\/strong>3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms<\/p>\n

Extras: <\/strong>Media room, office, dining room, roof access, keyed elevator.<\/p>\n

10-minute walking radius: <\/strong>Fanelli Caf\u00e9, the New York Earth Room, Balthazar<\/p>\n

Listed by:<\/strong> Gavin Shiminski & Jonathan Stein, Douglas Elliman <\/a><\/p>\n

Rockwell and his filmmaker<\/a> wife, Linda Mevorach, moved to the top-floor apartment in 1978, according to their broker, Gavin Shiminski, who listed the space for $4.5 million this week. The price accounts for a rarity in Soho: 22 windows across three exposures, with endless views, thanks to how the ten-floor building sticks out of the historic neighborhood. Other charms\u00a0include exposed brick, high-barrel vaulted ceilings, old hardwood, and built-ins that stretch along a hall off the main, open living area.<\/p>\n

But the standout might not be the selling point. Listing photos include images of Rockwell\u2019s inner sanctum, lined floor to ceiling with special shelving to fit the CDs, tapes, and records that he listened to as a critic. That space is soundproofed, Shiminski says, \u201cso he can really listen to his music and do his thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Huge views in the open living area.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The built-ins lead to a hallway of more built-ins.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n This wing of the apartment is now set up with two offices and a bedroom.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Rockwell\u2019s office is the larger space, listed on floor plans as a media room. It\u2019s soundproofed.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n A desk in back set up for a writer.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The other wing of the apartment, which stretches from Broadway to Mercer, contains a kitchen, dining room, and more bedrooms.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n From left: <\/strong>Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDrepsPhoto: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

\n From top: <\/strong>Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDrepsPhoto: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n A dining nook.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n A view over Manhattan.
\n Photo: Francisco Rosario\/DDreps\n <\/p>\n

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