The Earth Room by Walter De Maria

The Earth Room, a long-term installation which first appeared at its home at 141 Wooster Street in New York was created by artist Walter De Maria in 1977. The sculpture is made of 250 cubic yards of earth, taking up 3,600 square feet of floor space. The earth is 22 inches deep, and the total weight of the sculpture, entirely of earth, is 280,000 pounds.

New York’s Earth Room is the world’s third. The first was installed in Munich in 1968, and the second in Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, also in Germany, in 1974. Today New York’s Earth Room is the only one of the three still extant.

Those who have visited the Earth Room, usually out of curiosity, come away with an experience not easily found in the middle of a city like New York- the overpowering scent of wet earth, as if you just entered a forest. According to some the sight is so unusual and even beautiful, it can bring tears to your eyes.

Earth Room

No photography is permitted in the Earth Room. Open from September 11, 2013 until June 15, 2014, Wednesday to Sunday, 12-6pm and closed from 3 to 3:30pm.