A historic LES synagogue, now an artist’s studio, asks $10.95M

Within what was once a well-known synagogue at 80 Forsyth Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the magnetism of this impossible-to-define property goes beyond its rich public history. The three-story space can be used as a live/work studio, gallery, or museum, with many more creative options due to the block’s flexible zoning. Recently featured in the New York Times, the building is currently the studio of artist Dana Barnes, a former fashion designer known for creating large-scale fiber sculptures and wall hangings. Charmed by the space and its history, she and her husband, Dale Westhoff, purchased it in 2013 for $6.4 million. Asking $10.95 million, the 6,800-square-foot building’s scale and architectural details require no embellishment beyond what meets the eye.

Built in 1874 for the Kol Israel Anshe Poland congregation serving the neighborhood’s Eastern European Jewish community, the building had a mikvah (ritual bath) in the basement, which remained in use into the 20th century. The congregation built a new synagogue nearby some years later, using 80 Forsyth as a community center.

Abstract Expressionist artist Milton Resnick purchased the building in 1962, turning it into a home and painting studio. For five decades to follow, the space enjoyed an important role in the story of postwar American art.

The space could easily accommodate a massive, completely unique single-family home, with loft proportions, warm sunlight, and plenty of space in every imaginable configuration.

Burnished hardwood floors, painted brick, a stunning modern kitchen and contemporary additions like track lighting suggest that very little would be needed for comfortable modern living.

“We fell in love immediately—it was like being in a time portal to another era,” Westhoff told the Times.

In addition to 150 years as part of the fabric of New York City’s creative history, the building comes with 10,000 square feet of additional air rights for future big ideas.

[Listing details: 80 Forsyth Street at CityRealty]

[At Sotheby’s International Realty by Jonathan Hettinger, Mark Thomas Amadei, and Megan Hait]

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