The NY Earth Room

Its exactly what you'd imagine it would look like, if you've seen a photograph of it.
 But visiting it tells you something a bit different about the place. Cooped up in a building among high-end furniture stores and Chanel boutiques, its as if the room is participating in a game of hide and seek. The only indication that you've arrived to the right place is the 141 number above the door and the tiny plaque informing you of the ritual that should take place in order to arrive at your destination:

The Dia Art Foundation
The New York Earth Room, 1977
Walter De Maria
press 2B below
walk up to second floor
open wednesday through sunday
 12-3pm and 330-6pm
closed summer months

So, I press 2B on the intercom, and with no voice or signal the door opens. I realize I can't use the elevator, which arrived just I as walked in the door in a way that seemed like an invitation to walk in and let go. But soon enough I see another small sign telling me to go up the stairs for the NY Earthroom. So I do.
And that's it. You get to stand in between two walls, on a space of maybe three to four feet wide. And while it is interesting to see what 250 cubic yards of earth look like inside a New York City room, I can't help but understand why it is closed during the summer months. The room is muggy and humid. Even when the outside 30 degree air is allowed to come through the window it feels like you've walked into a swamp.
And so, I can see how this work can be completely lost on people, just earth sitting in a muggy room. But if you take the ritual seriously, if you allow yourself to be transported out of the city by the earth's heat and smells, then it is perfect. Like nothingness, meditative, and kind of refreshingly straight forward.
An room, filled with earth, in New York City.