The iconic black and white mural of the Manhattan skyline that has adorned the side of a SoHo landmark for nearly 20 years may soon fade to gray.
New owners of the building at 600 Broadway off Houston Street want to paint over the distinctive, six-story-tall ad for DKNY and replace it with a 15,000-square-foot swath of gray – marked only with the name of the incoming tenant, Holister Co.
Holister, an Ohio-based clothing company that trades off the Southern California surfer culture, is set to make the building its flagship store later this year when company officials hope to dump the DKNY ad that has become a neighborhood landmark.
The proposal – unveiled before a Community Board 2 committee Monday night – goes before the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission next week because the cast-iron building is in a historic district.
“While there’s some nostalgia for the DKNY sign, it’s not exactly the Domino Sugar factory,” said Brad Hoylman, chairman of the community board.
The early-1990s DKNY mural features a pre-9/11 view of Manhattan with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground. It was featured in the opening credits of “NYPD Blue.”