There’s a reason why McKibbin Lofts made it to the Worst Room Tumblr, but shut up and look beyond its notorious “h-word” “frat” reputation. There’s a reason why people do this. Not everyone cares about renovated bathrooms and walls. Who needs walls when you have friends.
A French foreign exchange student living there made the short MCKIBBIN documentary and, save for a few wild camera jolts, it’s pretty charming and eye-openings. Meet Molly, a 22-year-old who works in a bakery in Manhattan and rents the “shittiest,” “cheapest” “room” in one of the signature “shanty dorm” lofts. But it’s cheap. And friendly. Also, her walls are carpet. Don’t lean on them. I did. Almost died.
Alright, so I can see McKibbin from my more apartment-like apartment on the other side of that block and yes, it’s loud and sometimes roommates flake on rent and some of the rooms are definitely not rooms at all, but I can’t tell you how many impromptu traveling marching band shows, cute pretend raves, benefit jams for very young feminist collectives and totally random, heartwarming mass social assemblages I’ve been to in there. And, of course, terrible flops too.
But wait, HOLY SHIT.
Have you ever seen the other apartments? There are relatively swanky lofts in there, once you gut the shanty dorms out. Oh, what? Is that a legit family unit? Sorry for party rocking. Here’s Molly representing our generation or something like that. Why does she live there, with the six-tittied kitty mural and the holiday light pentagram and the Robinson Crusoe bedroom? “We can do anything we want.” But there’s more to McKibbin.
ANIMAL shot our hit Merry Indie X-mas parody video here.
