Westbeth (formerly Bell Labs, American Telephone & Telegraph Co.)

Westbeth is the largest artists community in the world. Located in Greenwich Village in the historic Bell Labs building, it has both living and working space for visual, performing, and literary artists. Merce Cunningham in dance, Gil Evans in jazz, Diane Arbus in photography, Moses Gunn in acting, and Muriel Rukeyser in poetry are among the hundreds of artists who developed their art and careers in Westbeth. Westbeth is composed of 383 units designated as living and working space for professional creative artists. The award winning design by architect Richard Meier includes performing and visual arts studios; a gallery; theaters; film, photography, and recording studios; a communal print shop; sculpture studio; and a community space used for performances, concerts, lectures, videos, and meetings of community groups. It was his first large architectural commission.