Canal Street (A, C, E)
Depending on where you exit the station, you may end up on the SoHo side (north of Canal) or the Tribeca side (south of Canal).
The Soho side:
Edgy-bougie art and furniture galleries. High quality, low quantity, new-on-the-scene fashion stores (think Cult Gaia, not Prada). Pricey boutique hotels.
You can drop serious money in this part of SoHo. But you can also spend hours browsing art galleries for free. I recommend making your way to Wooster street and wandering through the many free exhibitions between Canal and Broome. Within the span of two blocks, you can visit Yve YANG, Richard Beavers, Jeffrey Deitch, Leslie-Lohman, NowHere, and The Drawing Center.
The Tribeca side:
The bougie, free art galleries are on Walker and Lispenard Streets, between Church and Lafayette. If you’re looking for a quick rest stop, I recommend the Blue Bottle Coffee within the Walker Hotel at the intersection of Walker and Broadway, which is right in the center of Tribeca’s gallery scene.
Here’s a screenshot of Walker Street between Church and Broadway. All those purple art-palette icons are free art galleries, and there are even more that aren’t showing up! The best way to see the galleries? Just walk down Walker (or Lispenard) between Church and Lafayette and walk into any and all that catch your eye!
Amanda Ba on display at Jeffrey Dietch. Featuring a special visitor, Blue, Mx. Robert Hampton’s service dog.
Whichever gallery or side you start with, I strongly suggest you visit the reception desk and ask for a copy of the Downtown Gallery Map, which updates every few months with the latest exhibitions at each of the galleries in Lower Manhattan. The map can help you chart your path, especially since the gallery scene is on constant rotation. For example, The Drawing Center was closed for installation the day I went, but thanks to my map, I could easily find other galleries on the same block. Some are a bit hidden, or require you ring a doorbell, like 47 Canal. Without the map it’s very easy to walk past a free, public gallery without ever knowing it was there!
On display at Richard Beavers gallery.
If you’re fashion hunting, I have two recs. Sample Sale 260 rotates designer sample stock, and even though the pieces can be pricey, they’re way less than they would be on regular shelves. You can get a $2000 dress for $500, which is still, you know, five hundred dollars. But hey, if you’re in the market for a 2k dress, you may as well stop by Sample Sale 260 to see if you can get one at a major discount. My second rec is Ksubi, in part for the artwork inside, and in part because the jeans selection is excellent if you’re willing to drop around $200 for a quality pair.
My financial advisors will be having a talk with Kamari from Ksubi, who convinced me that I simply had to buy these bomb jeans and leopard mesh tee.
I also invite you to do away with my recs and let your interests guide you. Given the artistic influence of this area, even stores that aren’t in the business of selling art are likely to have an artist on display. For example, I visited Modus10, which is primarily a high-end German furniture store, but also showcases international artists. And the fashion stores, even if they aren’t collaborating with an artist on display, feel like fashion galleries.
In general, whatever you see sold around here, it’s going to be the luxury version of that thing. For example, you can buy an ordinary kippah for a couple dollars. But you can also buy a luxury kippah for $1500 at David Roytman Luxury Judaica.
Bespoke kippahs at David Roytman Luxury Judaica.
Hey, no matter your budget, it’s free to browse!
Love the art but can't afford it? Make your own! I picked up some paints from Soho Art Materials on Wooster and Canal, right at the start of the Wooster gallery art walk.
Bye for now, Canal (ACE)! I'll be back soon to explore your sister stop, Canal (1).
Sister Stops: Canal Street (1) and Franklin Street (1)
