Williamsburg

Guggenheim Opens Gallery in Beautifully Restored Williamsburgh Savings Bank

A South Williamsburg landmark turned gallery will open its door this week for inaugural exhibit “Some Place Like Home.” The Rumney Guggenheim Gallery will further expand the offerings of the stunningly restored former Williamsburgh Savings Bank at 175 Broadway, which has become a popular event space. Now known as Weylin B. Seymour’s, the gold domed treasure has been hosting galas,…

by Hannah Frishberg

10/13/2015 3 minute 0

Now known as Weylin B. Seymour’s, the gold domed treasure has been hosting galas, weddings, and photoshoots since the completion of its $27,000,000 restoration last year.

The ground-floor gallery fits in well with the area’s transitioning energy.

A 19th century institution revived, re-created “WSB” monograms and all, turned into a modern art gallery just a street over from where Brooklyn Industries shares a block with Shnitzer’s Dinettes and Katz Book Binding. The building is sandwiched between the Williamsburg Bridge and Peter Luger Steakhouse in a neighborhood famous for its Jewish heritage, hasids and hipsters.

Gallery founder Santiago Rumney Guggenheim — legendary arts patron Peggy Guggenheim’s great-grandson — has chosen to feature well-known Brooklyn artists Swoon and Olek among other street and neon artists from across the country. The curator previously worked at galleries in Paris and New York, including Gagosian.

In the empty lot next door at 159 Broadway, Weylin B. Seymour’s owner Carlos Perez San Martin plans a 40-story , 250-room boutique hotel. Slated for completion earlier this year, the out-of-context high-rise has yet to break ground, due to a lack of funding.

The gallery is certainly not Williamsburg’s first, but has some of the biggest names. It represents the potential establishment of a serious art scene in the area which, despite being a single subway stop across the river from Manhattan, is a world away.