You might have noticed the scaffolding that has been in front of Orchard Street’s Mark Miller Gallery for many months has finally come down. We checked in with Miller this morning for an update on the gallery’s ongoing transformation. It’s no ordinary sidewalk that’s been installed alongside 92 Orchard, the 1901 tenement building that’s been in the Miller family for many years.
The cement (a darker, more traditional color) is known as “Landmark Gray,” an enhancement to the streetscape meant to recall the neighborhood’s rich history. The next step: extending the new sidewalk around Broome Street. Sometime in the spring, Miller hopes to continue the restoration of the building, steam blasting the brick facade.
Incidentally, “Double Happiness,” the Kevin Berlin exhibition that opened in late October, is being extended until December 23rd. That will give people who might have been intimidated by the scaffolding and makeshift walkway a chance to see the show.
Who’s happiest about the improvements? That person might just be Miller’s mom, Arlene, who runs the JA-Mil Uniform Company, next door to the gallery. Her customers finally have a clear path into the store, an Orchard Street fixture since 1961.
