Belly of the Beast: 9 Unknown Art Landmarks in New York

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New York is full of secrets—and there’s nothing like collecting those little kernels of knowledge and dropping them at will. These famous, unknown art history landmarks aren’t exactly destinations you’ll seek out in The City, but they are places any art savvy New Yorker should know. At the very least, you’ll impress smart people and chicks that dig art.

1. 57 Great Jones Street

Who: Jean-Michel Basquiat

What: Home & Studio

Now: Butcher Shop

Back in the 80's, Andy Warhol owned this loft space in SoHo and rented it out to Jean-Michel Basquiat. It was here that Basquiat created much of his best artwork and eventually met his demise from a heroin overdose in 1988. In contrast, 57 Great Jones Street is now home to a butcher shop that specializes in imported Japanese beef for local restaurants. Weird? A little.

2. 569 Lexington Avenue

Who: Marilyn Monroe

What: Famous Photograph

Now: Double Tree Hotel

It’s one of the most famous photographs of Marilyn Monroe ever taken. She’s standing on a subway grate with her white dress blowing up. At the time, this location was the site of the glamorous Loews Theater where Monroe was promoting "The 7 Year Itch". The theater is no more. Today it's a Double Tree Hotel. You’d never know the spot’s legacy, especially considering subway grates are everywhere in The City.

3. 190 Bowery Street

Who: Roy Lichtenstein

What: Home & Studio

Now: Graffitied all over

If you've ever been to the Bowery, there is a good chance you walked passed this grandeur corner building that has been covered in graffiti. One of pop art's greatest icons, Roy Lichtenstein, used to rent out the fourth floor in this building where he lived and made art. It's hard to believe that the steps to this historic site are now a piss-soaked nest for the Bowery’s bums

4. 33 Union Square West

Who: Andy Warhol

What: The Factory

Now: Puma Store

A few weeks ago, the shiny "Andy Monument" statue was erected in the northwest corner of Union Square to commemorate the life of Warhol and his famous Factory which was located not too far from where the statue stands. Presently, 33 Union Square West is a Puma store, but in 1968, a few floors upstairs, Warhol's Factory was in full effect. The infamous art studio/party spot is where he was almost fatally shot in the chest by Valerie Solanas.

5. 210 West 14th Street

Who: Marcel Duchamp

What: Studio

Now: Furniture & Lighting Store

Marcel Duchamp, a visionary of both the Surreal and DaDa movements, fled from Paris to New York City in 1915, at the start of WWI. In New York, he moved around different apartments and studios, but amongst all the moves there was one favorite studio he held ownership of until his death in 1968. In 2011, the location stands as a furniture and lighting store, but in Duchamp's time it was his haven for creativity.

6. 345 East 56th Street

Who: Piet Mondrian

What: Apartment & Studio

Now: Remodeled Luxury Apartments

It was in this tiny Midtown apartment space that Piet Mondrian gave life to his creations, including the masterpiece "Broadway Boogie Woogie", which was inspired by his love of Manhattan's vibrancy and excitement. Today the building still stands, but since Mondrian's time, it’s been gutted and remodeled for luxury living.

7. 325 Broome Street

Who: Keith Haring

What: Apartment/Studio

Now: Someone else's apartment/homage to Haring

This two-bedroom railroad apartment, only a couple blocks down from Roy Lichenstein's Bowery Street studio, was home to Keith Haring and his boyfriend in the early 1980s. Haring created some of his artwork in this space, and to the landlord's pride, some parts of the building's hallway still retain original "Babies" characters by Haring. Though the interior of the apartment was painted over after his death, the current occupants (who found the place on Craigslist initially unaware of its history) decorated the place as a tribute to Haring.

8. 600 Broadway

Who: Jeff Koons

What: First Studio

Now: Koons’ Studio

In the 1980s, After a period working as a Wall Street broker to make some bank in order to fund his art projects, Koons bought his first art studio in SoHo on the corner of Broadway and West Houston. There he employed a staff of 30 (including an image consultant), and created his famous balloon animal series, Statuary, and the gold-trimmed Michael Jackson & Bubbles series, Banality.

9. 106 West 53rd Street

Who: Mark Rothko

What: Studio

Now: Midtown Offices

Today if you take a walk down this skyscraper-lined Midtown neighborhood, it seems like just another business district. But there is a forgotten nugget of art history hidden amongst the corporate jungle. Upon his immigration to New York from what is present-day Latvia, Rothko carried out his home life and art career from this residence until his eventual suicide in the apartment's kitchen in 1970.