so, there it is. after about 32 months (more than two-and-a-half years!) at 36 cooper square, foursquare hq is moving to soho.

we were two people when we first landed here in may 2009. we’re now 100. it’s become standing-room-only in this office, so we have to move to bigger digs. i’m really going to miss this space and being in the east village a lot. we’ve all been looking back on how the office changed and how we’ve changed (we were so young back then!).

as it always does, new york changed a lot too and it got me thinking about a before-and-after of the neighborhood:

then: the scratcher was like our living room. now: the scratcher is still our living room, but it can’t fit all of us.

then: the cooper square hotel had just opened. now: as of a few weeks ago, it became the standard east village.

then: the 185-year-old 35 cooper square, home of the asian pub, was a favorite hang across the street from the office. now: the 35 cooper asian pub has closed and was demolished in winter 2011 after a long battle with the landmarks commission.

then: the cooper union got a new identity by way of a new academic building, 41 cooper square, which had just finished construction. now: the cooper union undergoing a bit of an identity crisis as it figures out finances and ponders whether to start charging students tuition for the first time in its history.

then: the street in front of the office was ripped open and under construction, for god knows what. now: the street in front of the office is ripped open and under construction, for god knows what.

mari’s got a great set of photos that has as selection of a few of the best memories from the last couple of years: it’s titled “36 cooper”, appropriately.

to soho!