Red Square’s Lenin Statue Finds New Home on Norfolk Street
This image has been archived or removed.
Photo: Johan Vipper
It was big news yesterday when word dropped that the iconic Vladimir Lenin statue was removed from its longtime perch atop Red Square. It didn’t go far, though.
No sooner was the 18-foot sculpture deposed than hoisted to a new home just across the street. A mobile crane lifted Lenin to the rooftop of 178 Norfolk Street yesterday morning. Boogie reader Johan Vipper sent along the following image of the re-installation.
This image has been archived or removed.
Photo: Johan Vipper
Choice of location makes sense.
In the immediate aftermath of its removal, a tipster told EV Grieve that Red Square co-developer Michael Rosen was intent on keeping the statue. Well, Rosen and Red Square co-developer Michael Shaoul together own 178 Norfolk Street. Don’t be surprised to see Lenin back on his game in the coming days…
Its removal, and subsequent relocation, probably has something to do with the purported sale of Red Square over the summer. Indeed, word leaked last month that the 130-unit development was under contract to Dermot Co. for roughly $100 million.
This 18-foot Lenin statue was originally commissioned by the USSR, but the implosion of that country in 1989 – the year Red Square was built at 250 East Houston – prevented its display. The developers of the property, Michael Shaoul and Michael Rosen, reportedly found it trashed in a backyard just outside Moscow and installed it five years later.