In the 1980s, New York City's Soho was the place to be. Once thought of as a gritty neighborhood of modest walk-up residences and industrial buildings, the area became hip, overflowing with "in" clubs, stylish eateries and the most avant garde galleries. In the heart of it all was 325 Broome Street, the address of Keith Haring's apartment.

After years of "tagging" the City's public spaces with his unique, joyful imagery, Keith had risen to stardom. His apartment, replete with a carnival of colors and designs, became the hub of the Soho art scene. Very much in the public eye, the world wanted to hang out with the endearing artist. And so they came. Artists, musicians, celebrities. It was said that on occasion, there were more Graffiti artists present than could fit into a subway car!

As so it happened, many would find themselves seated in Keith's raucous kitchen. To the side, and as clearly seen in surviving photographs, was the apartment's modest two-door Lantz refrigerator. The upper freezer door was small; the larger white enameled main door, measuring 40.5" x 22.75'" proved to be an enticing "canvas" on which visitors could, and did, register. The result: a cacophony of signatures, tags and designs covering every inch of this both ordinary and extraordinary item.

Today, some of those Graffiti tags have faded. But eighty three of them remain strong, a permanent reminder of a place and time that to this day has so influenced the art world, and indeed, the global culture. Art historians and Graffiti artists have viewed the door. They concur on certain names, debate others. "Madonna loves Keith" is a no-brainer. But was the adjacent "JM" written by Basquiat? For sure, Jean-Michel was there, often, but the initialsÂ… hard to say for certain.

Keith's own work appears in a dark ameba-like shape along with one of his Radiant Baby stickers. Basquiat is believed to be present, but, as noted above, is difficult to confirm. "Yes" to the following names, but there certainly are more: LA2 (Angel Ortiz, Keith's close associate), Madonna, Futura, Anita Rocks, Fab 5 Freddy, Delta 2, RTW (Dr. Revolt), Ramelzee, Jean Caffeine (Pulsullama), Rock Steady Crew, Crazy Legs, Jenny Lee, Dean, Arbitrator (+ A. Koor, A. Krane), Enemy, Tracer, Toxic, CSU Adams, SK2, Shaker 179, RP3, Jennifer, Pound Cake, Brim and Bow.

Of course, with time Keith moved on. 325 Broome was in his wake, along with the Lantz. In the fine old tradition of NYC "street discoveries," the new tenant, very much aware of Keith's place in history, grabbed the old fridge before it was destroyed. The small freezer door is now gone as is the bulky cooling innards. But that once blank canvas, that guest register, remains as a mirror vividly reflecting on a time that was.

Owner's Statement

"In 1990, I was an aspiring actor and a decidedly downtown girl. I was thrilled when in the Village Voice, there was an ad for a "spacious railroad apartment flat," on Broome Street. As it happened, it was one of those small, affordable flats that had been home to a stream of performance artists, dancers, actors, and the artist Keith Haring.

​My roommate also worked in the arts and was proud of living in the flat that was once occupied by Keith Haring. We had this amazing refrigerator covered with the graffiti of the Haring era. I called it "Haring and Friends" covered in tags by so many of the downtown art scene artists of the 80's. When our friends stopped by, they gravitated towards the kitchen; we would ask if they could find Madonna's Signature on the fridge. It took a moment but eventually they would see "Madonna Loves Keith," Haring's radiant baby sticker and other famous signatures and tags on the door.

​Keith moved to a different place before he died in 1991, yet still received mail on Broome Street. Heaps of invitations to clubs, art openings, film festivals and galas piled up on the bottom of the stairs in a cardboard box, as we had no forwarding address to send them to. The landlord was clearly unconcerned, and as far as I could tell, unaware that an artist of Keith Haring's stature lived in the building. The walls of our apartment had once been covered in Haring graffiti, and the landlord had painted over it all.

It was during this exciting stage of my life that I came home to Broome Street one sweltering day and discovered that our fridge, with the amazing graffiti from the Haring gang, had conked out. My roommate ordered a new one. I panicked and asked her "what happened to the Haring fridge?" "The delivery men took it away," she said. "They left it out on the street for the garbage collectors." I raced outside. There, in the back alley, was our old friend, the Haring fridge, lying on its side. The door slipped off the body of the fridge, easily. I brought it upstairs while my roommate retrieved the smaller top freezer door.

​In 1993, I had an opportunity to go to San Francisco. I packed my things and a friend drove me - and the Haring fridge door - to my parents home in Washington, D.C. My parents stored the door in their attic, wrapped carefully in a quilt, where it was kept for about 20 years until my mother decided it was time to empty her attic. She shipped the door to me around 2010, where I have kept it in my home in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have loved looking after this amazing piece of history, this map of the 1980's New York City art scene, where so many talented artists converged"