page_title: The Broken Kilometer
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: The Broken Kilometer / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Building that houses the Broken Kilometer by Walter De Maria
context_page_description: The Broken Kilometer, is a permanent art installation created by Walter De Maria in a street level storefront in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. The piece consists of 500 round solid brass rods, 2 meters long by two inches in diameter, laid on the floor in 5 rows of 100 rods each. The work is illuminated with metal-halide stadium lights. Commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation in 1979 it has been on view to the public ever since. The Broken Kilometer is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation, who consider it one of the eleven locations and sites they manage.
  De Maria's 1977 artwork The Vertical Earth Kilometer in Kassel, Germany is considered a companion piece to The Broken Kilometer.
context_section_description: The space that now houses The Broken Kilometer was previously the second site of Heiner Friedrich's gallery (the first location of this gallery  is two blocks away and where another work by De Maria, The New York Earth Room is on now permanent display). Friedrich was one of the founders of the Dia Art Foundation which commissioned The Broken Kilometer. The sculpture has been on public display since it was installed in 1979, and is maintained by the Dia Art Foundation as one of eleven locations and sites they manage.
  In 1977, De Maria created The Vertical Earth Kilometer which The Broken Kilometer is considered a companion piece to. It is located in Kassel, Germany and uses a brass rod with the same weight, length, and diameter as this work.
  There have been few changes to the work or the space it is in over the years. The most notable changes include the installation of a bench in the mid 2010's and in 2018 the Dia Art Foundation undertook a $78 million campaign to add to their endowment and renovate all of the spaces it owns, with a new climate control system planned for The Broken Kilometer so it can remain open year-round.
caption: The storefront that houses The Broken Kilometer
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