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Inside William Burroughs's Bowery Apartment
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 14, 2010
Modified Jan 14, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 14, 2010
Modified Jan 14, 2010
Share
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Did you know that author William S. Burroughs lived in a partially converted YMCA at 222 Bowery? He called the apartment "The Bunker," and it's still around today. Brooklynite Peter Ross recently took a series of photographs documenting his items in the space, which in 1997 (when Burroughs died) was taken over by their mutual friend John Giorno.
Luckily, Giorno kept the apartment intact for the most part, with his bedroom left exactly as is. Ross told us his favorite item was the shoes, and when he spoke to the Morning News he explained, "Shoes are just shoes, but only one man wore the holes into the bottoms of this pair. Just think of where these shoes have been, the conversations they have witnessed. These shoes likely have met many of my heroes of New York’s 1970s and ‘80s culture."
Curious what the interior looks like? It appears one Flickr user got inside; check out his photo here. And after the jump there's some video with more interior shots.
Tagged
apartment
bowery
Peter Ross
photography
William Burroughs
william s burroughs
ymca
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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