Dream House

Tried going a bunch of times from 1999-2005 but was always closed, finally was open this time and did not disappoint! Interesting sonic effects from physical movement/interaction and calming meditative environment. 2 sound installations in 2026 along with several light/video pieces.

People in the comments complaining about the price… this is such a weird unique space and the fact that it exists STILL (my first time was almost 10 years ago) is incredible. Yeah it’s $10 - rent in this city that’s reasonable! It’s a spot I would bring visitors just for the vibes. Lay around and let yourself feel something you haven’t before. Meditate, think, relax.

Dream House is not a house and not exactly a dream, though it might mess with both. Third floor of 275 Church Street, you walk in and the world outside falls away. The room is bathed in a deep magenta light that makes your skin look like it belongs to someone else, and a continuous drone hums through the air, a sound that seems to move around you, inside you, and through the floor. It has been running since the early 1990s, the work of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, two artists who turned sound and color into architecture. There is no start or end here, no program, no playlist. The sound shifts depending on where you stand, what angle your head tilts, maybe even what you had for breakfast. You can sit in the middle for five minutes and swear nothing changes, then realize the tone in your teeth is different than the one in your ears. The floor is carpeted, the air still, and after a while you forget the city is three stories down and roaring. It is open only a few afternoons a week, which feels deliberate, like they are not running an exhibit but a secret club for people who want to get lost without leaving town. Walk out and you hear the street again, but it sounds like a cheap recording of itself. For a few minutes the city will feel wrong, like you just woke up in someone else’s dream.

This is a truly special place in New York, we came all the way from Finland to enjoy continuous drone of sinewaves by LaMonte Young and magenta lights by Marian Zazeela. The place is little bit difficult to find, but once you get there: you know this is home.

This is a holy site for art music. The one-star reviews miss the whole point: La Monte Young is the only living connection to the pre-Velvet Underground experimental/improvised music scene in New York City. I was enthralled to see the installation in person, which has been running in various iterations for 40+ years, and on the way out bought a signed copy of the Black Record—an insanely hard to find relic. Yes, the space has weird vibes. It is austere and does not explain itself (unless you read the program notes). It is also a living, breathing piece of history. If you are looking to experience general meditation, or looking for an “immersive experience” without learning about the artist or the history of experimental music in New York from 1960 to now, don’t go! But for those who are open to it, it is the pilgrimage of a lifetime.

I traveled almost 12 hours to see this installation as I wanted to use it for my research, but unfortunately it wasn’t open and no one answered the phone that was provided on the entrance door’s label.

I was expecting some kind of interactive or museum type of place, but I walked in to find 2 empty rooms that were poorly decorated with rundown vibes with nothing worthwhile to see. Sure, it’s a good place to rest if you are in the city, but there was a white noise playing in the background that was slightly too loud to be pleasant. Interesting concept, but could’ve done a way better job with the execution.

Truly a unique NYC experience. Came here with a friend not knowing much about what the hell this place is, found it (with some detective work) and got upstairs. There we were greeted by a friendly volunteer who answered some questions and we entered the dream house. At first your bombarded with a blast of noise that shakes the walls. But then it begins to soothe you, to envelope you, and ultimately consume you. What an experience, I'll be back.

WARNING: THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE SOUND BATH EXPERIENCE Uh, I just came to the page to confirm the hours, and was sad to see bad reviews from people that didn't know what they were walking into. Felt like I needed to leave a corrective score. It's basically drone music paired with colored lights and a set of rules, which is really interesting if you're looking for that in a city with decreasing amounts of weird stuff.. Someday, this will be replaced by a fancy apartment for a person that lives here 15 days a year. But for someone interested in what it actually is, it's wonderful! Maybe listen to Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" or John Coltrane's "Ascension" first, to see how tolerant you are of the audio. It's designed to be LOUD. Also, like any concert, earplugs may help you enjoy the volume without giving you a headache, etc TLDR, could be a bummer if you're not trying to be challenged but also a $10 experience that's more interesting than the latte at the identical cost that DOESN'T produce depressing 2 star reviews from tourists.

Don't listen to these naive reviews, look into the provenance of this space FIRST. If you are interested in NYC art history and the development of 'minimal music' and art, La Monte Young & Marianne Zazeela then definitely visit, if not don't.

Do this was an adventure. We paid online, $25/ticket for what was advertised as a sensory museum at that time. We show up, difficult to find the location. We go inside this apartment location and find a guy sitting at a small table with shows charging $10. Um...what? We show him the tickets, we go inside and there's just a loud hum. Everything vibrates and the wall just has a tapestry. That. Is. It. Oh, there is incense smoke from a smoke machine in another room. My friends and I stood there and laughed. Yeah we threw away money here. Had we known what this was you couldn't pay us to go, let alone PAY to be here. After our hysterical laughing, we jumped online and looked at reviews. Tons of complaints about bedbugs and yuck. We booked it out of there in under 5 minutes. Worst $75 spent ever.

Its definitely a place to check out at least once. The sound is difficult to adjust to at first, and the place is smaller than i anticipated. All in all every response will vary but i loved it!

I was expecting some kind of interactive or museum type of place, but I walked in to find 2 empty rooms that were poorly decorated with rundown vibes with nothing worthwhile to see. Sure, it's a good place to rest if you are in the city, but there was a white noise playing in the background that was slightly too loud to be pleasant. Interesting concept, but could've done a way better job with the execution.

$20 I will NEVER get back As a native New Yorker, I am constantly seeking different new experiences. There wasn't much said about this location on the internet besides "art exhibit". So I figured why not. I even coughed up the $10/person admission to check out why this place is even on a map. What I was greeted with is a creepy art exhibit. The exhibit is basically an apartment with 2 rooms, a hallway (with neon lights), and a restroom. The living room had 2 large speakers playing a strange very loud beat. There were 2 people sitting on the ground looking like they are in a meditative state. I stood there for a few minutes to try to get into a meditative mood but couldn't. The other room had a few art exhibits I honestly don't even remember to write. The bathroom was a nice relief away from the creepiness. Not worth $20. This freaked out my companion. I don't recommend this "exhibit", especially with a $20 price tag.

When you get to the 275 building, you hit the 3rd floor bell and get rung in. Once you walk up to the third floor, there's someone sitting outside with a collection box and you pay what you want - he said $9 was the suggested amount so we put in $20 for the two of us. As soon as I walked in, I knew we had overpaid. This so called "museum" of light and sound is literally an apartment with neon lights and loud speakers with pillows situated in a circle on the floor. There's incense of the west burning (agarbatti) too. The apartment itself reminded me of an old, dirty, and very empty (seemingly temporary) college apartment that's used for parties. Many people walked in and out within 10 minutes of less. We stayed longer to meditate and then attempted to take a quick power nap, but we're interrupted frequently because the room vibrates every time someone's walking. Very hipster. And I don't mean modern day hip hipster, I'm talking 60's hippies. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a mid-day woo-sah, but I definitely wouldn't recommend dropping $9/person on your first visit. I'd suggest giving a bit less and giving more afterwards if you enjoyed the museum. By the way, 3 rules: 1. No talking. 2. No electronic use. 3. No shoes inside.

Highly recommend. Make sure you have a lot of time to spend there and come in the right mindset.

I mostly agree with Roma's description of the place however I disagree with a few elements. It is one large room and one minor room. It presented as clean. There are only two rooms. One major one and one minor space. The minor one is not worth speaking of. In the large room with white walls and white carpet and white pillows, you can lay on the ground or fall asleep on a pillow with God knows what on it or when it was washed. The room is dark and the only light is coming from this hypnotic light display on a wall, and showing through another sheet covering another wall. It is true that once someone gets up and walks around, it is kinda loud and the ground vibrates. Throughout this setting, there is an extremely loud buzzing sound with layers of other tones. At first it seemed annoying and thought that it might drive me crazy but soon I found comfort in it and actually started to fall asleep. People who stayed tended to stay for over 30 minutes. I stayed for 45 mins. There was some weird Altar for a guru in there. I didn't appreciate that religious element especially when it had no context or indication of who it is. I only donated $2. P.s. there is a washroom in there

DO. NOT. GO. This is not a "house", this is a single small room. At the front door they no longer ask for a suggested donation, they charge $10/person. The room has a poorly decorated...pattern? on the wall and loud, repeating below frequency sound blaring. It's absolutely not worth your time. Atlas Obscura actually has it listed as a place to see. Umm no. Don't. Save your time and money.

Don't listen to the other reviews. I've been coming here for years. When you first walk in the sound is strange, because you've probably never heard anything like it. But grab a pillow, lay on the floor for at least 15+ minutes, and it puts you in meditative-like state. I've spent hours in here before. An incense is usually burning, so do note if you're sensitive to that. This place is especially good if you have no experience with meditation and are curious of its benefits. I have brought many people here for the first time and every person said they felt more relaxed or just "better" after they left. I think the effects are most clear only after you walk back outside. Yes it's an "installation", but don't conflate that word with a place you go to take photos for instagram. This is a place where you go to take time out of your (likely overstimulating) day to do something that makes you feel clear, refreshed, whatever. Look into the history of the artists if you want to know how the sound installation works, it's worth understanding. From my experience the cost has been suggested donation since the 90s, but even if it's now $10 (as other reviews suggest) I feel it's worth it, provided the space is used correctly and adequate time is spent there. I would be extremely upset if this place shut down, so if they need to raise the price to operate, so be it.

I don't know why people are reacting so harshly to the dream house. It is a "SOUND AND LIGHT EXPERIENCE!!!" I've always enjoyed the time I spent at Dream House. I leave feeling relaxed.

Weird, and not in a good way. We were told it was a $10 donation, we paid $30 for the three of us. Walked in and really tried to like it but no, no and no. We walked out 3 minutes later, asked for a refund but girl at desk said she didn't have access to the cash box. Right. Don't waste your time or money.

This is a scam. The only good that came out of this visit is the affirmation of how strong my current relationship is, given the fact that my partner is still with me after taking him here

I took my parents here once and told them it was an escape room, which really livened things up.