The name SoHo is a blend of "South" and "Houston" from "south of Houston Street" and is bounded roughly by Houston Street on the north, Lafayette Street on the east, Canal Street on the south, and Sixth Avenue on the west, although some consider West Broadway as the western border. It is this area that Bang & Olufsen has chosen for the location of our next Flagship location in North America.
For one to fully understand present-day SoHo, it is helpful to imagine the past and to picture what once was here and the many drastic changes the neighborhood went through before it became the hip location it is today. In the 1600s Manhattan was covered with miles of grassy hills, streams, meadows, forests, and marshes and relatively uninhabited. But eventually, the emerging urbanization did have an effect and rapid development across the area attracted many business enterprises. The neighborhood became home to elegant hotels, stores, casinos and theaters, becoming a largely industrial and commercial area known as the Cast Iron District.
SoHo rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s as a neighborhood for the artists when vacated factories began being converted into inexpensive lofts and studios, perfect for living the creative, inspired lifestyle they were hoping for. With the combination of SoHo’s location, the loft appeal, the iconic cast iron architecture and its history, SoHo has become the heart and soul of New York City and a perfect choice for our new Flagship showroom.
