Walk down West 57th Street today and it feels like a different planet. Glass needles scrape the sky. Billionaires' Row has basically swallowed the neighborhood whole. But for anyone who lived through New York's gritty, creative peak, there’s a specific four-story hole in the city's heart where Lee's Art Shop New York NY used to be. It wasn't just a place to grab a Sharpie. It was a cathedral for the obsessive.
Honestly, if you were a student at the Art Students League across the street or a designer working in a nearby midtown office, Lee’s was your oxygen. It didn’t feel like a corporate chain. It felt like a sprawling, beautiful, slightly chaotic archive of everything you could possibly need to make something.
The Drama Behind 220 West 57th Street
The building itself is a masterpiece. We're talking about the old Society House of the American Society of Civil Engineers, built back in 1897. It’s got that French Renaissance Revival limestone that makes you feel fancy just standing near it. Gilbert and Ruth Steinberg bought the original shop in 1951 and eventually moved it into this iconic building in 1975.
For decades, the Steinbergs didn't just run a business; they curated a landmark.
People forget that Lee's wasn't just about paint tubes. It was a massive, multi-floor experience. You’d wander past high-end furniture, Italian lighting fixtures, and drafting tables that cost more than a month's rent. One floor you're looking at professional-grade easels, and the next you're distracted by a $500 desk lamp that looks like it belongs in a museum.
What Actually Happened?
The end wasn't some slow fade into irrelevance. It was a classic New York real estate knife fight. In 2013, the building was sold for a staggering $85 million. There were lawsuits. Developers were circling. The children of the original owners, David Steinberg and Jill Isaacs, eventually had to let go.
When the news hit in 2016 that Lee's was closing for good, the art community took it personally. It felt like the final nail in the coffin for the "old" 57th Street. You’ve got to understand—this was the street of Carnegie Hall and the American Fine Arts Society. It was meant for makers, not just people parking their money in empty penthouses.
More Than Just Markers and Paper
Why did people love it so much? It was the inventory.
Most "art stores" now are basically glorified craft aisles. Lee's was different. They had the stuff professionals actually used.
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- Custom framing that was legendary for its precision.
- A paper department that made you want to start a journal you’d never actually finish.
- Architectural models and supplies that you couldn't find anywhere else in the five boroughs.
Kinda sad, but a lot of the staff had been there for decades. They knew the difference between a dozen types of black ink and actually cared about your project. You could walk in with a half-baked idea and walk out with a full supply list and a bit of genuine advice.
The Ghost of Lee’s Today
If you walk by the address now, the Lee's Art Shop sign is actually still visible on the side of the brick wall. It’s a weirdly haunting reminder. For a long time, the building just sat there, papered over, a limestone ghost in the middle of all that shiny new construction.
But things have changed recently. The space hasn't been turned into another luxury bank or a CVS. Instead, it’s found a second life in a way that feels oddly appropriate for its history. The building is now home to Masquerade, an immersive theatrical experience based on The Phantom of the Opera.
They’ve essentially turned the old art shop into a sprawling, 19th-century Parisian opera house. It’s dark, it’s moody, and it uses all those nooks and crannies that used to hold canvases and clay. While it’s not an art store anymore, there’s something poetic about a building designed for engineers and filled by artists now being used for high-stakes theater.
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The Loss of the "Mom and Pop" Mega-Store
Lee’s Art Shop New York NY was part of a dying breed: the family-owned giant.
We see it everywhere. New York Central Art Supply on Third Avenue? Gone. Pearl Paint on Canal Street? A memory. The rise of online shopping and the "big box" effect basically squeezed the life out of these specialized spots.
Sure, you can order a tube of Gamblin oil paint on your phone in three seconds. But you can't feel the weight of a sketchbook. You can't see how the light hits a specific shade of ochre. And you definitely can't have a 20-minute conversation with a guy named Sal about why your current brushes are shedding.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re an artist in New York and you’re feeling the void left by Lee’s, you’ve got to be intentional about where you spend your cash. The "convenience" of the internet is what killed these landmarks.
- Support the survivors: Shops like Blick are fine, but look for the smaller spots like Soho Art Materials or Da Vinci Artist Supply.
- Visit the building: Even if it's for a show, go inside 220 West 57th. Look at the architectural details that Lee’s fought to preserve during their 2002 renovation.
- Document the local spots: If you have a favorite local shop that’s been around since the 70s, use it. Tell people about it. Once these places are gone, they never come back.
The legacy of Lee's isn't just about the supplies it sold. It's about the era of New York where creativity had a permanent, four-story home in the middle of Manhattan. It was a place where "professional" didn't mean corporate—it just meant you knew your craft.
Next time you’re in Midtown, look up at that limestone facade. The artists might be gone, but the spirit of the place is still baked into the walls. It's a reminder that even in a city that’s constantly erasing its past, some stories are too big to be completely painted over.
Actionable Insight:
If you want to experience the history of the Lee's building firsthand, check out the current "Masquerade" production. It’s one of the few ways to see the interior architecture of the old ASCE Society House without needing a construction permit. To support the local art scene, prioritize shopping at independent retailers like Janoff's Stationery or Da Vinci Artist Supply to ensure the remaining creative hubs don't meet the same fate.