188 East 3rd Street | Block : 398 | Lot #24

Description & Building Alterations

This 1874 Italianate pre-law tenement building originally had ground floor shops with apartments above. Despite sustaining major fire damage by the early 1980s and sitting vacant for a while, this building still retains its original arched window lintels and entry surround. The design on the parapet mimics the metal cornice that was lost after the fire. The raised entrance remained even after the conversion of the shops to apartments in 1962, but was removed in the mid-1980s.

Poet and writer Lewis Warsh lived in the building from 1965-66. Warsh was one of the principal members of the second generation of the New York School poets. He later joined a community of writers around The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church.