Breaking the bank! Inside converted bank building home of Manhattan photographer which could sell for $50 MILLION - 42 years after he bought it for just $102,000 and shared it with Roy Lichtenstein
A six-story family home hidden inside an imposing Manhattan building, which many had mistakenly believed was a derelict building, has appeared on a realtor's site.
Sitting on a corner spot and with graffiti covering the door and first two floors, the building has an air of being vacant, but that is far from the case.
The ornate former bank at 190 Bowery is currently home to photographer Jay Maisel, who paid $102,000 for it more than 40 years ago.
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The impressive 190 Bowery building, a single-family home for photographer Jay Maisel, has been listed on a real estate agent site
With graffiti covering the imposing doorway and first two floors, many had believed the building was vacant
Photographer Maisel used his artistic vision to turn the six-story building into a family home, after he bought it for $102,000 more than 40 years ago
Floor plans and pictures published on the site of realtor RFR reveal that inside the building is a quirky family home, with about 35,000sq ft of space, 72 rooms and many features left over from its former life as Germania Bank.
Maisel, who lives in the rambling building with his wife Linda and daughter Amanda, uses the first three floors as gallery space, and once rented out the fourth floor to pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.
While the living areas were described as being 'very artists live here' by NY Mag, which was afforded a rare glimpse inside in 2008, the 1898 building still has many throwbacks to its banking days.
The original vault, said to be the size of studio apartment, is still in the basement; the original copper cage elevator is still used by the family, and it is still possible to make out where the bank teller stations were positioned on the main floor.
The first two floors have 18ft high ceilings, and the remaining floors have 11ft high ceilings. The building also comes with a pressed tin wall in the dining room, a basement and roof terrace.
The ground floor still has many features left over from the building's former life as the Germania Bank
The six-story home has a roof terrace with amazing views across Manhattan
The family have their main living space on the top two floors, with all the bedrooms and bathrooms, and a large kitchen for entertaining, on the sixth floor.
When the couple gave NY Mag a tour in 2008 they said that despite the constant cost for its upkeep, they could never imagine selling.
Estimates for the value of the New York City Landmark property, in the bustling NoHo part of Manhattan, suggest it could sell for about $50 million, the Real Deal reported.
'I fantasize about never having to worry about money again. It would be great to take the money and run. But let's face it, where are we going to go? A three-room apartment?' Maisel said.
Few details, and no guide price is listed on RFR's website, and it has not yet responded to a Mail Online request for further comment.
The ground floor is reached through the imposing entrance way, top right, and still has signs of the former bank
Floors two, above, and three, below, are used as gallery space by Maisel
The fourth floor was once rented out by Maisel to Roy Lichtenstein as a studio space
The top two floors, reached by the original copper elevator, are the main living space for the family
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