Daniel Arsham Lists His Converted Soho Firehouse for $8.9 Million
A landmarked firehouse in Soho that doubled as Daniel Arsham’s home and studio is now on the market for $8.9 million, offering a rare look at how an artist has reshaped a 19th-century New York structure for contemporary living. The property at 185 Lafayette Street was purchased by Arsham in 2022, when he turned the former firehouse into a highly personalized live-work space.
The building itself carries a long architectural and civic history. Constructed in 1887 and designed by Napoleon LeBrun, the official architect of the Fire Department of New York, it originally served as Engine Company No. 55. Its patterned brick exterior and cast-iron pillars remain intact, preserving the street-facing character of the original structure even after decades of alterations.
Inside, Arsham’s renovations introduced a different register. Across three stories, the home includes custom built-in bookshelves, a spiral staircase painted in his signature mint green, and a roof terrace with a landscaped lounge area and cabana. The ceilings are high, and the interiors were arranged to take advantage of the building’s natural light and vertical volume. The garage on the ground floor was one of the features that first drew Arsham to the property, in part because it could accommodate his Porsche 964 Carrera 2.
The house also reflected Arsham’s collecting habits and visual world. Works by KAWS and Josh Sperling were shown throughout the space, alongside one of Arsham’s own eroded Venus de Milo sculptures. Those artworks, however, are not included in the sale, nor are the furnishings.
The firehouse has already lived several lives before Arsham’s tenure. After Engine Company No. 55 moved out in 1898, the building was altered when Elm Street was widened and folded into Lafayette Street, giving the property its current address. The top floor was removed, and the cornices and terra cotta rosettes were lowered during the renovation. For years, the building served as sleeping quarters for Deputy Fire Chief Thomas R. Langford, then later became an automotive repair shop and a surplus store.
In 2009, photographer Terry Richardson bought the property for $3.3 million. He later listed it for $5.5 million in 2022. Arsham’s sale adds another chapter to a building that has moved repeatedly between utility, reinvention, and display — a pattern that feels especially apt for a city where historic architecture often becomes a stage for new forms of cultural capital.
