The Factory

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The Factory
The Factory
Interactive map of The Factory
Address22 East 33rd Street
New York, NY
United States
Operator Andy Warhol
TypeArt studio
Construction
Opened1963
Closed1987

The Factory was pop artist Andy Warhol's New York City studio and the center of his artistic, social, and filmmaking activities from 1963 to 1987. Originally located at 231 East 47th Street before moving to two later sites, the Factory became known for its distinctive blend of art production, experimental film, fashion, music, and countercultural nightlife. It served as a gathering place for a wide circle of artists, musicians, writers, socialites, and underground personalities—collectively known as Warhol superstars—who contributed to the studio’s reputation as one of the most influential creative hubs of its era. The Factory played a key role in the development of Warhol's Pop art, his film projects, and his exploration of celebrity culture, helping shape the landscape of American avant-garde art in the 1960s and 1970s.

Contents

History

In 1960, pop artist Andy Warhol purchased a townhouse at 1342 Lexington Avenue in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, which he also used as his art studio. [1] Due to the mess his work was causing at home, Warhol wanted to find a studio where he could paint. [2] A friend of his found an old unoccupied firehouse on 159 East 87th Street where Warhol began working in January 1963. [3] No one was eager to go there, so the rent was $150 a month. [3]

1963–67: 231 East 47th Street

A few months later, Warhol was informed that the building would have to be vacated soon, and in November he found another loft on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, which would become the first Factory. [2]

In 1963, artist Ray Johnson took Warhol to a "haircutting party" at Billy Name's apartment, decorated with tin foil and silver paint, and Warhol asked him to do the same scheme for his recently leased loft. Name covered the whole factory in silver, even the elevator thus giving the space became known as the Silver Factory. Aside from the prints and paintings, Warhol produced shoes, films, sculptures and commissioned work in various genres to brand and sell items with his name. His first commissions consisted of a single silkscreen portrait for $25,000, with additional canvases in other colors for $5,000 each. He later increased the price of alternative colors to $20,000 each. Warhol used a large portion of his income to finance the Factory. [4]

By the time Warhol had achieved a reputation, he was working day and night on his paintings. Warhol used silkscreens so that he could mass-produce images the way corporations mass-produced consumer goods. To increase production, he attracted a ménage of poets, drag queens, socialites, musicians, and free-thinkers who became known as the Warhol Superstars. They helped him create his paintings, starred in his films, and created the atmosphere for which the Factory became legendary. Warhol created a sexually lenient environment at the Factory for the "happenings" staged there, which included fake weddings between drag queens, porn film rentals, and vulgar plays. What was called free love took place in the studio, as sexuality in the 1960s was becoming more open and embraced as a high ideal. [5]

Many Warhol films, including those made at the Factory, were shown at the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre or 55th Street Playhouse. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Billy Name brought in the red couch, which became a prominent furnishing at the Factory, finding it on the sidewalk of 47th street during one of his "midnight outings." The sofa quickly became a favorite place for Factory guests to crash overnight, usually after coming down from speed. It was featured in many photographs and films from the Silver era, including Blow Job (1963) and Couch (1964). During the move in 1968, the couch was stolen while left unattended on the sidewalk for a short time. [10]

Speaking in 2002, musician John Cale said, "It wasn't called the Factory for nothing. It was where the assembly line for the silkscreens happened. While one person was making a silkscreen, somebody else would be filming a screen test. Every day something new." [11]

Warhol began looking for a new Factory location in 1967 because the building was scheduled to be demolished. The location is now the entrance to the parking garage of One Dag. [12]

1968–73: 33 Union Square West

He then relocated his studio to the sixth floor of the Decker Building at 33 Union Square West near the corner of East 16th Street, near Max's Kansas City, a club which Warhol and his entourage frequently visited. [13] The same year Warhol created the business Factory Additions to handle the business of publishing and printmaking. [14]

The Decker Building, the second location of the Factory at 33 Union Square West. Decker Building, 33 Union Square West, NYC (2008).jpg
The Decker Building, the second location of the Factory at 33 Union Square West.

In June 1968, Warhol was shot by feminist Valerie Solanas at the Factory. [15] The Factory had an open door policy where anyone could enter, but after the shooting, Warhol's partner Jed Johnson built a wall around the elevator and put in a Dutch door so that visitors would have to be buzzed in. [16]

In 1969, Warhol co-founded Interview magazine and the Factory transformed "from an all-night party to an all-day office, from hell-on-earth to down-to-earth." [17]

Despite the new security precautions put in place after the shooting, two gunmen broke into the Factory in 1971 and demanded to see Warhol. [9] [18] Warhol was led by Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro and Jed Johnson to the editing room in a terrified state. [9] The intruders refused to leave when the Factory manager Paul Morrissey and Warhol's business manager Fred Hughes gave them money and plane tickets. [9] [18] They then took Dallesandro's son from his wife's arms and threatened to shoot him unless Warhol emerged. [9] After Dallesandro informed the two that Warhol had called the police, they surrendered his son and fled the scene. [9]

1974–84: 860 Broadway

In 1974, Warhol moved the Factory to 860 Broadway, overlooking Union Square Park at East 17th Street and Broadway. [19] Warhol's partner Jed Johnson and architect Peter Marino worked together to renovate the new space. [20] By the time Warhol and his group moved in, the boardroom was already lush with carved wood paneling. [19] Warhol's new Factory was noted for its comparatively subdued atmosphere, shaped in part by the presence of large Art Deco furnishings that were props from his films, and a moose head. [21] [19] The elegant furniture, which featured complete sets of chairs designed by Edgar Brandt and Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann were "used furniture," according to Warhol. [21] "It was stuff we used for a movie [ L'Amour ] we were making in Paris a couple of years ago. Now we use it as a conference table, and for the lunches we bring in every day from Brownies on 16th Street. We eat here out of paper boxes with people like Bertolucci and Sylvia Miles and big producers like Grimaldi." [21]

Beige plasterboard barriers with white spackle divided the Factory into spaces for Warhol's many activities, including painting, publishing, and filmmaking. [19] The space had an unfinished appearance, which he liked. "The random spackling makes nice, quiet background for paintings," explained the artist. [19] In the foyer, there was the "guard dog"—a stuffed Great Dane named Cecil—rumored to have belonged to film director Cecil B. DeMille, but had actually been a champion dog, whose real name was Ador Tipp Topp. [22] For Warhol, Cecil was a fruitless attempt to deter burglars who, he claimed, broke in almost every Friday. [23]

The third incarnation of the Factory was located at 860 Broadway. 860 Broadway.jpg
The third incarnation of the Factory was located at 860 Broadway.

The Factory did not have many paintings on display. There is a massive landscape painting by 19th-century French realist Gustave Courbet; the other paintings, including Warhol's, were stacked on furniture and lean against the wall. [19] A steady stream of famous people visited the Factory. Numerous guests arrived to be interviewed for Interview magazine. [19] Visitors are greeted with a massive wooden bust of Leonardo da Vinci after being buzzed through glass doors. [19]

Warhol filmed his television series Andy Warhol's TV at the Factory from 1980 to 1983. [24]

The nightclub Underground operated at 860 Broadway from 1980 to 1989. [25] [26] It was owned by Jay Levy and Maurice Brahms, [27] [28] [29] a former partner of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the original owners of Studio 54, after Studio 54 closed due to jailing of Rubell and Schrager. [30] [31] [32] The club opened on February 28, 1980. [33] John Blair got his start there. [34] Baird Jones promoted Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night parties from 1983 to 1986. [35] [36] [37] [38] Music videos for "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner and "Word Up!" by Cameo were filmed at the club. [39] [40] After about a decade, the club was reimagined by BlackBook Magazine columnist Steve Lewis & Co. as Le Palace de Beauté, where RuPaul often performed.

After the Underground closed, Petco opened, moving in 2022, to 44 Union Square, the former Tammany Hall. [41] [42]

1984–87: 158 Madison Ave (22 East 33rd Street)

In 1984, Warhol moved his art studio to 22 East 33rd Street, a conventional office building. [43] His television studio had an entrance at 158 Madison Avenue and the Interview magazine office had an entrance at 19 East 32nd Street. [44] Warhol filmed his MTV talk show Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes at the Factory from 1985 until he died in 1987. [45]

The Factory milieu

This trunk was used in Warhol's Silver Factory as a storage unit and film prop. Edie Sedgwick sits on this trunk in Vinyl. After Warhol died in 1987, photographic negatives by Billy Name were found inside the trunk, as well as the script of Up Your Ass by Valerie Solanas, which was thought to have been lost. This was one of the factors that led Solanas to shoot Warhol in 1968. Warhol silver trunk 03.jpg
This trunk was used in Warhol's Silver Factory as a storage unit and film prop. Edie Sedgwick sits on this trunk in Vinyl . After Warhol died in 1987, photographic negatives by Billy Name were found inside the trunk, as well as the script of Up Your Ass by Valerie Solanas, which was thought to have been lost. This was one of the factors that led Solanas to shoot Warhol in 1968.

Music

The Factory became a meeting place of artists and musicians such as Lou Reed, [46] Bob Dylan, and Mick Jagger, as well as writer Truman Capote. Less frequent visitors included Salvador Dalí and Allen Ginsberg. [46] Warhol collaborated with Reed's influential New York rock band the Velvet Underground in 1965, and designed the noted cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico, the band's debut album. It featured a plastic image of a yellow banana, which users could peel off to reveal a flesh-hued version of the banana. [47] Warhol also designed the album cover for the Rolling Stones' album Sticky Fingers . [48]

Warhol included the Velvet Underground in the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, a spectacle that combined art, rock, Warhol films and dancers of all kinds, as well as live S&M enactments and imagery. The Velvet Underground and EPI used the Factory as a place to rehearse and hang out. [4] : 253–254  The song "Walk on the Wild Side", Lou Reed's best-known song from his solo career, was released on his second, and first commercially successful, solo album, Transformer (1972). The song relates to the superstars and life of the Factory. He mentions Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by his Factory nickname Sugar Plum Fairy). [49]

Films

Warhol started shooting movies in the Factory with experimental films such as Kiss (1964) and Blow Job (1964). He screened his films at the Factory for his friends before they were released for public audiences. [50] When traditional theaters refused to screen his more provocative films, Warhol sometimes turned to night-clubs or porn theaters, including the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre and the 55th Street Playhouse, for their distribution. [51] [52] While Warhol was recuperating from the June 1968 assassination attempt, Paul Morrissey stepped in to handle the filming and oversee the Factory’s operations. [53]

Warhol superstars

Warhol superstars were a shifting group of actors, models, and downtown personalities who appeared in Warhol's underground films and became central figures at the Factory during the 1960s and 1970s. Celebrated more for their charisma than traditional fame, they embodied Warhol's idea that anyone could become a "superstar."

Notable figures included Baby Jane Holzer, Edie Sedgwick, Ultra Violet, Viva, Joe Dallesandro, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn, Jackie Curtis, and Jane Forth. [54] [55] [56] [57] Their presence helped define the Factory’s mix of art, performance, and countercultural glamour, and they remain closely associated with Warhol's legacy and his fascination with celebrity and reinvention.

Locations

References

  1. ↑ Bourdon, David (1989). Warhol. New York: Abrams. p. 67. ISBN   978-0-8109-1761-3.
  2. 1 2 Warhol, Andy (2006). POPism : the Warhol sixties. Internet Archive. Orlando : Harcourt. pp. 31–32, 78. ISBN   978-0-15-603111-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  3. 1 2 Elbaor, Caroline (November 21, 2016). "Andy Warhol's First New York Studio Sells for $9.98 Million". Artnet News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Watson, Steven (2003). Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties. Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-42372-9.
  5. ↑ Greffe, Xavier (June 29, 2016). The Artist–Enterprise in the Digital Age. Springer. p. 86. ISBN   978-4-431-55969-6.
  6. ↑ "Garrick Cinema – 152 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012". Cinema Treasures. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018. Previous Names: New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, Andy Warhol's Garrick Cinema, Nickelodeon
  7. ↑ Garcia, Alfredo (October 11, 2017). "1968". Andy Warhol Films: Newspaper Adverts 1964–1974. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Staff (2010). Fodor's See It New York City (4th ed.). Fodor's Travel Publications. ISBN   978-1-4000-0498-0 . Retrieved March 27, 2018– via Google Books.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ferguson, Michael (2015). Joe Dallesandro: Warhol Superstar, Underground Film Icon, Actor. Open Road Media. ISBN   978-1-5040-0654-5 . Retrieved March 27, 2018– via Google Books.
  10. ↑ "Billy Name". warholstars.org. Archived from the original on June 22, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
  11. ↑ "My 15 minutes". The Guardian . February 12, 2002. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Andy Warhol in New York". Bob Cromwell: Travel, Linux, Cybersecurity. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Warhol Automobile Paintings To Finally See Daylight". Max's Kansas City. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  14. ↑ "2019: 50 Works for 50 Years". South Dakota State University. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  15. ↑ Solomon, Tessa (June 18, 2020). "Who Was Valerie Solanas, the Feminist Revolutionary Who Shot Andy Warhol?". ARTnews.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ O'Brien, Glenn (June–July 2008). "Pat Hackett". Interview. 38 (5): 106.
  17. ↑ Colacello, Bob (1990). Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up. New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 74. ISBN   978-0-06-016419-5.
  18. 1 2 "Upset In The Underground: Gunmen Go For Andy". Daily Mirror. July 30, 1971. p. 4. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gilbert, Rose (September 27, 1976). "'Wasted space is any space that has art in it'". Daily News. p. 34. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  20. ↑ Goldstein, Andrew M. (August 12, 2016). ""Art Architect" Peter Marino on How He Became the Dark Prince of Luxury". Artspace. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 Bourdon, David (November 11, 1974). "Stacking the Deco". New York Magazine. 7 (45): 64, 66.
  22. ↑ Day®, National Purebred Dog (August 6, 2019). "The Great Dane, "Cecil"". National Purebred Dog Day®. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  23. ↑ Sheppard, Eugenia (May 28, 1974). "Warhol Factory Houses All Of His Projects". The Lexington Herald. p. 9. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Proof That Andy Warhol Was the Biggest Starfucker – TheArtGorgeous". TheArtGorgeous. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  25. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 11, 1988). "Plush Discos Offer Rock, Rap and Romanticism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  26. ↑ Farrell v. Lautob Realty Corp., 238 A.D.2d 304, 656 N.Y.S.2d 912 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
  27. ↑ Nieves, Evelyn (August 20, 1990). "Noisy Discos Are Targets Of Crackdown". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  28. ↑ Freitag, Michael (January 8, 1990). "Violence at Discotheque Mobilizes Neighborhood". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Maurice Brahms". Disco-Disco.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Other Legendary Clubs". Disco-Disco.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  31. ↑ Peter Rappit (1983). "Underground: The Slow Show, A Hip Hop Rap Attak (Event Flyers)". Library. Cornell University. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Pop Artist Steve kaufman". amourdart.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  33. ↑ Musto, Michael (November 3, 2017). "Ex-Club God John Contini: "Everyone Assumed I Was High As a Kite!"". papermag.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  34. ↑ Murphy, Tim (January 26, 2012). "A Highly Rated Body of Work". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  35. ↑ Duka, John (March 4, 1984). "The New Party Givers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Columbia Spectator 29 November 1983 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Baird Jones, Mark Kostabi, East Village Art, 1980s". Gallery 98. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  38. ↑ Steinhauer, Jennifer (February 12, 1995). "After Fabulousness, An Age of Intimacy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is (Official Music Video)". Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023– via TouTube.
  40. ↑ "Cameo – Word Up (Official Video)". Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023– via YouTube.
  41. ↑ Rebong, Kevin (February 3, 2022). "Petco to Open New Union Square Location". The Real Deal. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  42. ↑ alexinnyc. "Back to 860 B'way: O'Brien Over Union Square". Flaming Pablum. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  43. ↑ Alleman, Richard (1988), The Movie Lover's Guide to New York, New York: Harper & Row, ISBN   0060960809 , pp.150–152
  44. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (August 29, 1993). "POSTINGS: Andy Warhol's 'Factory'; The Foundation's Moving". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  45. ↑ Gotthardt, Alexxa (November 21, 2017). "On His MTV Show, Andy Warhol Broke All the Rules". Artsy. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  46. 1 2 Willett, Edward (2010). Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes . Enslow Publishers. p.  68. ISBN   978-0-766-03385-6.
  47. ↑ Chapman, Peter (2009). Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World. Canongate U.S. p. 166. ISBN   978-1-847-67194-3.
  48. ↑ Gair, Christopher (2007). The American Counterculture . Edinburgh University Press. p.  185. ISBN   978-0-748-61989-4.
  49. ↑ Roberts, Chris (2004). Lou Reed: Walk on the Wild Side : the Stories Behind the Songs. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 44. ISBN   0-634-08032-6.
  50. ↑ Deed of Trust Doc ID FT-190000023196, February 2, 1983 – via Office of the Registrar, Manhattan, NY
  51. ↑ "Garrick Cinema – 152 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012". Cinema Treasures. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018. Previous Names: New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre, Andy Warhol's Garrick Cinema, Nickelodeon
  52. ↑ Ferguson, Michael (2015). Joe Dallesandro: Warhol Superstar, Underground Film Icon, Actor. Open Road Media. ISBN   978-1-5040-0654-5 . Retrieved March 27, 2018– via Google Books.
  53. ↑ Davis, Melton S. (July 15, 1973). "Morrissey From 'Flesh' and 'Trash' to 'Blood for Dracula'". The New York Times.
  54. ↑ Lyden, Jacki (March 15, 2014). "'Baby Jane' Holzer's Flight From High Society To Warhol Superstar". NPR. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  55. ↑ Bender, Marylin (July 26, 1965). "Edie Pops Up as Newest Superstar". The New York Times.
  56. ↑ Klemesrud, Judy (May 11, 1970). "An Actress‐Model Who 'Has the Face of Now'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2025. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  57. ↑ Trebay, Guy (November 1, 2013). "The Real-Life Stories Told in 'Walk on the Wild Side". The New York Times.
  58. ↑ Deed of Trust Doc ID FT-190000023196, February 2, 1983 – via Office of the Registrar, Manhattan, NY
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