242 East 7th Street | Block : 376 | Lot #13

Building Date : 1908
Original Use : Institutional

Original Owner : Cong. of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn
Original Architect : Gross & Kleinberger

Description & Building Alterations

This two-story building was constructed as a synagogue in 1908 by architects Gross & Kleinberger, who were tenement architects. It was opened by the Hungarian Congregation of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn, or the Great House of Study of the People of Hungary. It is associated with the Jewish immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side, who developed vital communities and religious organizations. The congregation left this building in 1975, and in 1985 the building was converted to apartments.

This building is designed in a Classical Revival style, with a strong pediment with dentils and two stories of pilasters. The entrance and windows are encased in rounded arches and create symmetrical bays. The second and first stories are separated by a cornice-like belt course and dentils. The Landmarks Preservation Commission granted this building landmark status in March of 2008.

Block : 376/ Lot : 013 / Building Date : 1908 / Original Owner : Cong. of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn / Original Use : Institutional / Original Architect : Gross & Kleinberger

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What is the Building Blocks Project

What does a building mean to someone who lives there? A person who lives on the block? In the neighborhood? In the city? This site presents a wealth of historic information gained from GVSHP’s architectural research survey about the buildings located in the East Village.

The site explores the area generally considered today as the East Village: from a northern border of 14th Street to a southern border of Houston Street, Avenue D in the east to 4th Avenue/the Bowery to the west. You can explore the information about the blocks and buildings featured here in two ways.

Pick a block. Maybe it’s yours, or perhaps it is just your favorite place to shop, grab a bite, or just people watch. Then explore the buildings that make up that block. Or take one of the many guided tours on the site, curated by a collection of organizations and experts from the neighborhood. See how they experience the neighborhood. Then tell us what the neighborhood means to you. The site’s comments section allows you to open a dialogue with others who feel just as passionately as you do about the East Village.