Ludlow House. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
After some very strident local opposition and the requisite haggling with the community board, the folks at Soho House have finally managed to turn an old funeral home into Ludlow House. Although the privacy policy at the members-only club keeps its gatekeepers from telling us how many film, media, and creative types have signed up to “eat, drink, work and play” there, we were able to score you some other data.
Here’s a look inside the Ludlow House by the numbers.
- 6
The number of rooms, including the ’70s-vintage Living Room with an all-day menu, a variety of pastries, snacks, dips, toasts, soups and deli-counter style sandwiches; the dimly-lit Parlor Room; Lou’s Kitchen & Bar on the second floor; the “club within a club” Velvet Room, which hosts curated member events within its Pintura Studio wallpapered-walls; the Dark Room, a 24-seat screening room; and the Duckedup rooftop Asian restaurant on the fourth floor.
Living Room. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- > 8,500,000
The dollar amount that the former commercial building and funeral home, which dates back to 1902, was purchased for in 2013, according to Bowery Boogie.
- 10
The approximate number of films screened in the Dark Room per week, including pre-released films, new releases, documentaries, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Lower East Side Film Festival picks, etc.
- 823
The approximate number of crispy Peking ducks served at Duckedup since opening, as of July 15.
Duckedup. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 25
The number of CB3 members who voted to oppose Ludlow House’s liquor license application in May of 2013. The application ended up being approved by the State Liquor Authority after the rooftop bar became a restaurant, the closing hours were adjusted from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m., and a partnership was created with the Educational Alliance.
- 4
The number of LES haunts and characters after which each floor was named: the Living Room was named after The Living Room, one of the LES’s most iconic live music venues; Lou’s Kitchen & Bar was named after the Velvet Underground’s Lou Reed, who shared a $25-a-month apartment with John Cale at 56 Ludlow Street in the early ’60s; the Velvet Room was named after The Velvet Underground; the Dark Room was named after the subterranean dance club at 165 Ludlow that was formerly a cinema named Todo Con Nada in the late ’80s and ’90s.
Lou’s Kitchen & Bar. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 5-6
The number of member events hosted per week, including talks and panel discussions along with live performances from artists ranging from Father John Misty to the Boomerang dance company.
Velvet Room. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 55
The number of chandeliers.
Chandeliers in the Parlor Room. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 74
The number of vintage lamps.
A vintage lamp at Lou’s. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 107
The number of vintage chairs.
- 1
The approximate number of hours it took staff to wash away sidewalk chalk messages written outside the entrance that said “warning, bullshit zone ahead” and “warning, entering a douche zone,” according to Bowery Boogie.
- 284
The approximate number of artworks, including vintage photographs by Richard Kern, and works by Tracey Emin, Ryan McGinley, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Tom Burr, Lisa Ruyter, Marilyn Minter, Nari Ward, Oliver Clegg, Nicola Tyson, and Sophia Le Fraga.
Artwork in the Velvet Room. (Photo courtesy Soho House)
- 11
The number of vintage animal figurines.
- 105,600
The number of tiles made to match the original tiles in the building.
- 2,000
The number of dolla, dolla bills those over the age of 27 will have to spend for an annual local house membership. Or, if you wanted access to all of Soho House’s clubs around the world, it would cost $2,800 per year.
