It’s Free to Look: 54 Thompson Street

While most of us elbow our way even to try on a pair of shoes in Soho, this loft offers so much space it’s more gratuitous than a pair of $800 Manolo Blahniks.

Of course the question remains what one does with 7,000 square feet of sprawling, wide-open space at 54 Thompson Street, on the city’s prime real estate. There’s a massive terrace for one, plus a nearly 3,000-square-foot main room more valuable for its jaw-dropping properties than its utility. Also quite impressive -- unforgettable says the listing -- are the 32 windows, floating staircases and wall made of Brazilian granite. 

Thompson Street, in turns a swamp, graveyard and execution ground, has traded brothels for boutiques and a trendy hotel. For nearly $13 million, this gleaming glass and granite condo with a yawn-worthy sculpture garden is gentrified Soho in all its glory. --Laura Kusisto