Andy Warhol’s First Studio

In 1962, a neighborhood resident passed a building he may have walked by many times before and had an inspiration. The building, which was almost a century old, had been a firehouse until a few years previously, when New York’s Bravest moved to a new facility several blocks away. The neighborhood resident was an up-and-coming artist, Andy Warhol. The inspiration: to rent the former firehouse for use as a studio.

Andy Warhol in 1975

A few years earlier, Warhol had bought a narrow townhouse on Lexington Avenue between 89th and 90th Streets. His mother lived on the ground floor, and he and his growing artwork occupied the rest of the place. Although he did paint there, the townhouse was not ideal as a studio. The former firehouse, at 159 East 87th Street, just off Lexington Avenue, seemed to offer a better solution.

Warhol rented the firehouse for $150 a month. He started working there in January 1963. It didn’t take long before he realized that the building was falling apart. He remained there only a few months, but that was long enough to seal the reputation of the place as Andy Warhol’s first studio.

The building still stands. I know firsthand how easy it is to miss. I have walked by it hundreds if not thousands of times in the forty years I have lived on the Upper East Side. Even before its recent renovation, when it was still painted red, I never noticed it.

These days, a private office occupies Warhol’s first studio. Its origin as a firehouse remains prominently displayed.

The former firehouse that served as Warhol’s first studio, as it looks today

Here’s a bonus: The townhouse where Warhol lived with his mother.

It’s the center building, with the triangular pediment.

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