Historic UWS Building Will Be Permanent Home of Photography Center and Publisher  

By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava

A historic Upper West Side building that was home to popular restaurants — most recently, Ocean Grill — but has been empty since 2015, will be coming back to life. The Aperture Foundation, a nonprofit supporting the art of photography, is moving its offices, bookstore, and exhibition space into 380 Columbus Avenue at 78th Street, also known as the Evelyn.

Aperture was founded in 1952 by photographers, including Ansel Adams, as well as writers. Today, the organization publishes a quarterly photography magazine, photobooks, and books about photography. Aperture also hosts exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs.

The foundation had been renting space in Chelsea for nearly two decades, but its leadership felt a permanent home would solidify the organization’s future and help it reach a wider audience, said Sarah Meister, executive director of Aperture, in a Zoom interview with WSR. Meister was appointed to her role in 2021, after 26 years in the department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. 

In 2018, Aperture began a capital campaign and started looking at properties. In 2020, it closed its gallery and bookstore in Chelsea in anticipation of a move. This decision happened to coincide with the COVID shutdowns soon after. Its public spaces remain closed.  

When Meister and her colleagues walked into 380 Columbus on the corner of 78th Street, they had already visited hundreds of properties from Harlem to Battery Park City. The historic building made an instant impression. “We wandered in, and the space has this wonderful energy and aura to it,” Meister said. “It was that minute of walking in and seeing the sun streaming in and seeing all the traffic along Columbus Avenue,” she said. “It felt fantastic.” The space, which is more than 10,000 square feet, was listed at $9.75 million.

380 Columbus was designed by the architect Emile Gruwe, one of the first instructors at Cooper Union, the renowned college focusing on art, architecture and engineering. It checked many of the boxes on Aperture’s wish list. Specifically, it has a large ground floor retail space that allows people on the street a view into the space. Completed in 1894, the building also has a history befitting an organization that recently celebrated its 70th anniversary. 

Aperture is in the middle of a schematic design phase with its architects, LEVENBETTS, so renderings aren’t available yet. The foundation hopes to be in the new space in summer 2024, but the move could happen earlier. “This is something that requires thought and input from our staff, our trustees – we really want to make sure that we’re anticipating all the hiccups and concerns,” Meister said. “We don’t want to rush that, but we’re continuing to push it along.” 

380 Columbus, recognizable by its red terra cotta angels, was landmarked in 1990. Meister does not expect any significant architectural changes. “The space is great, the building is great – don’t mess with a good thing.”

She also said that being in an old building is important for an organization with a long history. “When you’re 70 years old, you want something that feels anchored and that points to the next 70 years.”

While Aperture is well-known in art circles, it lacks name recognition with the general public. Being in a neighborhood that’s easily accessible and close to other institutions – such as the Museum of Natural History and New York Historical Society – will help people discover Aperture for the first time. “The vast majority of people in the city carry a camera in their pocket at all times,” she said. “I believe there are photo-curious people who don’t go to Chelsea.” 

 The move to 380 Columbus will also allow Aperture to fulfill its mission as an educational organization, Meister said. “Being on the ground level, you’ll be able to have a sense of the people who are making the things you’re looking at.” By contrast, Aperture’s space in Chelsea is on the fourth floor, making it harder for people to discover who aren’t already looking for it. “Connecting people to and through photography is very important to us and has been since we started,” she said.

The majority of space will be used for offices where staff will create the books and quarterly magazine that Aperture publishes. Part of the space will be dedicated to public functions, such as “a bookstore or a room in which we might have a book signing, or an artist talk, or a small display of prints,” Meister said.

380 Columbus has been vacant for seven years. The Wing, a chain of co-working spaces designed to be more accommodating to women, had planned to open in the location in spring 2020, but that opening was stalled at the onset of the pandemic, and the company shut down this past August. 

When 380 Columbus was first built, it was necessary for the ground floor to be a restaurant, according to Landmark West – a preservation nonprofit – because some of the original apartments did not have kitchens. Over the years the space has been home to several restaurants and bars as well as Ocean Grill, including Gargala’s, P&G Bar, and Evelyn Lounge. 

While the Upper West Side doesn’t have the galleries of Chelsea, Meister hopes the new space will attract the art crowd from all over the city. “We’re in it for the long haul,” she said. “Arts neighborhoods come and go. What used to be SoHo then became Chelsea. Some might say it’s now the Lower East Side or TriBeCa. But I hope we’re not going to move every 15 years!”