Let’s be honest, the Neumann Building is quite a mystery. It was once a leather factory, and it is hard to imagine what is still kept inside the building — considering it looks like it was completely abandoned. Howeverrrr, that is absolutely not the case. We did some digging to see what is inside this elusive building that will soon be refurbished.
On the first floor/street level, the PROTO Gallery and Project Studios have set up shop.
For those of you who are into the beauty of creation and art exhibitions, the PROTO Gallery hosts a few shows a year that are open to the public. The owner of the gallery, Nick De Pirro, picks the artists he wants to feature in the show – usually Hoboken artists, but others have been from Jersey City and New York City.
A recent show at PROTO this summer featured artists Yevgeniya Baras, Alan Prazniak, Daniel John Gadd, and Dana James, and it was curated by Catherine Haggarty. PROTO GALLERY is hoping to remain in the Neumann Building when they start to refurbish. For more information about the art and the next upcoming shows click here.
After a tour of the downstairs, our lovely tour guide Nick took us all around the building to see the variety of creatives whose studios are housed in Neumann.
^One studio that two artists share
Nick has a variety of studios that he rents out to artists {or anyone in the creative biz}. Among the ranks are musicians, painters, sculptors, fashion designers, and even architects.
FUN FACT: The tailor who designed a suit for Barack O’bama rents a space Project Studios – and his name is Joseph Genuardi. Who knew?
^part of Joseph Genuardi’s studio
Tim Gunn {fashion designer and judge on Lifetimes, Project Runway} has even visited this particular studio, and one of his contestants rented out the studio during the time of shooting. Pretty sweet.
Living in our metropolitan area, music is something that brings many people together in Hoboken — Maxwell’s Tavern and concerts in Sinatra Park and Pier A being two of the most well-known locales. Some of our very own Hoboken-created bands rent out these studios to rehearse.
^Pardon the blur, Aart would only allow a quick snap as he tinkled the ivories!
Two specific studios especially caught our eye: the BOSO Drum sticks and Aart In America Piano Company. Here’s a little HG inside scoop about the latter: Aart Markenstein, the owner of the Aart in America Piano Company, is a professional piano tuner who is kind of a big deal in the music industry. Markenstein has worked with music legends such as Beyonce, U2, Paul Simon, Tony Bennett, Cher, The Eagles, K.D. Lang, Cyndi Lauper, the Black Crowes, Aerosmith, James Taylor, Ringo Starr, and Chuck Berry…to name a few. If you have seen one of these concerts, just know he has tuned their pianos beforehand.
Although we only got a small taste of the Neumann Building, it was fun to visit and get a little sneak peek into what is inside this mysterious building – which will be renovated soon. This historical Hoboken landmark houses some of the best, and we’re hoping we get to come back soon!
Have you ever visited the Neumann Building? What did you think?
