A Brief History of Wilhelm Reich and the Gansevoort Destructor Plant

The Whitney Museum of American Art opens their new building in the Meatpacking District on May 1st. To help people get acclimated to their new neighborhood, the museum started a Whitney Focus series titled Tour of the Meatpacking District in which artists describe historical events and locations from the neighborhood. In this episode:

Artist Lize Mogel tells the story of emigrant scientist Wilhelm Reich, whose controversial research into sexuality led to the confiscation and ultimate destruction of his papers by the Federal government. The location where the papers were destroyed was The Gansevoort Destructor Plant, just down the street from the Whitney's new location in the Meatpacking District.