Heath Ledger Death Location Added to the Rich & Famous Tour of Downtown New York; SoHo Loft Has Become Major "Macabre" Tourist Attraction in Landmarked Neighborhood of Big Apple

    /24-7PressRelease/ - NEW YORK, NY, February 05, 2008 - Heath Ledger's "death site" has been added to the Rich & Famous Tour of New York. Also mentioned is the Campbell Funeral Home on Madison Ave., where Ledger's body was embalmed and shipped home to Australia. Campbell's has long been known as the Funeral Home of the Rich & Famous."
The SoHo Loft at 421 Broome St. is where the Brokeback Mountain star was found dead two weeks ago at the age of 28. An "instant memorial" of cheap candles, bodega flowers and pictures, "sprang up" on the steps of the 1870's cast iron structure, when Ledger's death was announced. Ledger paid $28,000 per month for his 4th floor spread in the former 19th century drygoods building.

New York's landmarked SoHo neighborhood is located "SOuth of HOuston" St. and has over 100 cast iron facade buildings, dating back to the industrial age...the first "pre-fab" buildings in America, although the cast iron style came from England. Bubbling hot pig iron in the foundry, was combined with carbon, creating a molten iron substance that had the consistency of chocolate which was poured into pre-formed molds. When the pieces were cooled, the sections were bolted together and painted, and formed the facade of mostly wood-framed buildings (with brick in back and on the sides usually). The buildings were thought to be largely fire-proof, but of course the wood frames and floors could burn and often did. Firemen of the 1800's referred to the 100 - acre district as "Hell's Hundred Acres" because of the frequent factory blazes. Nearby stands the (in)famous TriAngle Shirtwaist Factory location, which had an tragic fire in 1911 that killed 146 young workers and resulted in the formation of the International Ladies Garment Worker's Union.
These and other sites associated with celebrities and New York history are featured on the Rich & Famous Tour of New York.

About Rich and Famous Tours
Rich and Famous Tours gives special "niche" tours of New York City spotlighting where celebrities live, shop, dine and party.

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