For us it was a palace.
Laura-Kristine Krause, Intern at the Goethe Institute NYC August-October 2007
I was an intern at the Goethe-Institut New York from August to October 2007. At that time, I had just turned 22 and the internship was a very special experience, especially because of my accommodation. Not only did I work at 1014 Fifth Avenue, but I also lived there!
The apartment in the basement of the building was used as accommodation for Goethe-Institut interns until 2008. We had to pay rent despite working fulltime in an unpaid internship, but $500 for an apartment on Fifth Avenue was simply unbeatable. Since only two of the often 3 or 4 interns could stay there, it was decided in advance by lot.
Because of the apartment in the basement, the way to work was short (four floors by elevator) and directly after work the discovery of the big, exciting city could start. But the way home to the apartment at night was lonely. Because on the Upper East Side, in the evening only a few people are on foot - most who live there had drivers or used cabs. So on the way back from going out in other parts of Manhattan, I was usually completely alone on the street walking the blocks from the 86th street station to 1014. My strategy? I chose a route that passed as many apartment buildings with "door men" as possible, under whose watchful eyes I made my way home.
Arriving on Fifth Avenue, it was always a special moment to unlock the main door of 1014 and enter the dark, quiet building. When do you ever enter an empty townhouse at one of the most famous addresses in the world?
In the few weeks of my internship, there was a lot happening in and around the building. It felt like there was always an event going on in the house. As a resident of the house that's not so impractical. I also remember a book market in the house, because the extensive stock of German-language books in the institute had to be reduced. Michael Bloomberg, then mayor of New York, came to a photo exhibition and a highlight was the film set for the opening scene of the first "Sex and the City" movie, which was set up right outside the door.
I also went jogging in Central Park a handful of times before work - just to be able to say I did it.
Living in the house made the Goethe-Institut home for a short but intense period. It was both an anchor and starting point for conquests. I also felt it was a sign of the institute's trust in us interns that we were allowed to live there. It was even more regrettable that shortly after my time there, the apartment was converted into an artist's apartment. It wasn't fancy, it was "retro" even then, it was a New York basement apartment. For us it was a palace, if only because of its location.