190 Homes for 190 Years
Yesterday, the real estate and architecture blog-o-sphere was abuzz with Property Shark’s new interactive timeline, NYC Homes: Two Centuries of Architecture, spanning 1821 to 2011. They created this feature in honor of the 145th birthday of Frank Llyod Wright and, much to our excitement, featured many houses in early historic districts such as Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Heights. We thought we’d take a look at some of the featured Village homes.
We were thrilled to see that a Greenwich Village Federal style rowhouse was used to kick off the timeline. Federal rowhouses are of special interest to GVSHP, as we have been documenting and advocating for the preservation of such houses throughout Lower Manhattan since 1997.
24 Commerce Street along with numbers 26 &28, according to the Greenwich Village Historic District designation report, “were built for Asher Martin and John Bennet, shoemakers, who had a shop on Greenwich Street,Two and one-half stories in height, with dormers, these frame houses are unpretentious versions of the Federal style, with facade in Flemish bond brickwork, pedimented dormers and double-hung muntined window sash. A simple wood cornice and an iron balcony of later date unify the buildings at roof level.”
The next home is located in the NoHo Historic District and, built in 1823, does not disappoint.
According to the designation report, “This Federal-style residence was built for James Roosevelt at a time when this section of Manhattan was a fashionable residential district. Tax records indicate that the two-story carriage house, built at the rear of the lot, was probably constructed c. 1825-27. Roosevelt, founder of the Hyde Park branch of the Roosevelts and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s great grandfather, occupied the property until his death in c.1847. His widow, Harriet How land Roosevelt, remained in the house until 1857 when it became the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, which was established by Elizabeth Blackwell, the country’s first female medical doctor. The first alteration of record in 1891 lists a feather store occupying the first floor with a dwelling above. Later that year, the carriage house was enlarged and converted to a restaurant. In 1903, an existing one-story rear addition linking the main building to the carriage house was rebuilt. By then, the upper floors had been converted to manufacturing lofts, while the ground floor was occupied by a restaurant. The house continued in that usage into the mid-twentieth century, and it still contains a first-story restaurant.”
We next go to 1826 and a house in another great Village historic district- Charlton-King Vandam.
And in 1828, on to the South Village, to a house that is part of a very important trio (numbers 127, 129 & 131) of Federal rowhouses that were landmarked in 2003, becoming the very first of GVSHP and the NY Landmarks Conservancy’s proposed 13 federal rowhouses to receive landmark status.
According to the New York Landmark Conservancy’s report, The Federal Era Rowhouse of Lower Manhattan, “These buildings were built on land originally part of the Elbert Herring farm. John Ireland was deeded a portion of the farm in 1825, and after several years began developing the land. The entire blockfront on MacDougal Street between Amity and Fourth was developed between 1829 and 1831. The buildings constructed on the block were typical of the period – modest 2½-story Federal-style row houses. The Federal style is typified by 127, 129 and 131 MacDougal Street, excellent remaining examples of the Federal style in Greenwich Village. Despite some alterations, all three buildings retain the simple silhouette of early 19th century dwellings. Particularly notable are the original door surrounds found on all three buildings. Even more remarkable is the survival of the original pineapple finials on the ironwork of the stoop. A symbol of welcome, the pineapple was frequently worked in iron and placed in a prominent place near the entry.”
1837 takes us to the East Village to a building that was recently, and very unfortunately, altered almost beyond recognition.
Nos. 326 & 328 East 4th Street were the only buildings ever to stand in their place; prior to their construction, the area was primarily farmland. They had seen the neighborhood through several waves of drastic change, from its origins as the center of New York City’s shipbuilding industry to its transformation into an immigration hub to its rebirth as a haven for artists. Reflecting this history, they housed merchants affiliated with the shipyards (No. 326 was developed by Francis Fickett, who many credit with the construction of the first steamship ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean), religious institutions (No. 328 was home to a synagogue for decades), and most recently an art collective (until last year, both buildings were home to the Uranian Phalanstery). Unfortunately, in March 2011, the buildings began to undergo demolition and are now completely gone, despite the long battle for preservation that GVSHP, along with fellow community groups and neighborhood activists, fought.. You can read more about their history HERE and learn how to help stop this kind of loss in the rest of the East Village HERE.
The middle of the nineteenth century was very well represented in the timeline.
We’re going to stop there because we want you to go on over to Property Shark and see for yourself what the next 57 years hold!