Updated, 10/13/19: John Giorno died on Friday at age 82. Here, we revisit an article from T’s archives.

According to its owner, the artist John Giorno, 222 Bowery is “an Italian-inspired palazzo for the beggars.”

The address housed New York’s first Y.M.C.A. in the 1880s — in what was then one of the worst neighborhoods in Manhattan, frequented by prostitutes and alcoholics. Much has changed since the poet, performer and painter moved in 53 years ago and created a haven for artists: It’s where Mark Rothko painted the Seagram murals and one of the spots where Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns hung out. Giorno and Andy Warhol were lovers there, from 1962 to 1965; Giorno starred in several of Warhol’s movies, including “Sleep.” William S. Burroughs lived there, too — he moved into the building in 1966, and to “the bunker,” now Giorno’s kitchen and meditation room, in 1975. “I never intended to live my life in this building, but somehow that happened,” Giorno says.

Giorno, now 78, owns three lofts in the building, including a living area and office space on the third floor that is bathed in light thanks to its Tiffany glass panels and arched windows. Giorno’s partner, the artist Ugo Rondinone, created the giant, rainbow-colored “Hell, Yes!” light sign that graced the New Museum’s facade from 2007 to 2010; when it was up, the couple had a direct view of it. “It was an unusual phenomenon. We’d just lie back in bed and look up at it,” Giorno says.