2600 square feet of Manhattan loft space rented for 35 dollars monthly in 1962

Evidence

The building, discovered by Fleming in late 1962, was—save for the ground-floor coffee shop Walter’s Cozy Corner—entirely empty. It was owned by Columbia University and slated to be razed along with the market. (Produce would henceforth enter the city via the new Hunt’s Point market in the Bronx.) In the meantime, entire floors, approximately 2,500 square feet, could be rented for $35 a month. — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 989

Categorization

• QUESTION: What was the equivalent rent-adjusted figure today, and what residential rent could $35 buy elsewhere in Manhattan in 1963? The ratio quantifies the rent differential that made avant-garde density possible.