632 East 11th Street; 632-634 East 11th Street | Block : 393 | Lot #23

Building Date : 1905
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Abraham Bernstein
Original Architect : Samuel Sass

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story “new-law” tenement building was designed by Samuel Sass, often listed under Sass & Smallheiser. The ground floor level of the building has been drastically altered from its original appearance. Additionally, the building would have had a cornice that is now missing. The Neo-Classical design features exaggerated splayed lintels as well as decorative window architraves and cartouches on the windows in the center bay. The third and fourth floor center windows, in addition to the entire sixth floor, feature Corinthian pilasters. There are recessed brick courses on the second floor facade to simulate rustication and there are quoins also executed in brick.

Block : 393 / Lot : 023 / Building Date : 1905 / Original Owner : Abraham Bernstein / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Samuel Sass

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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.