256 East 4th Street | Block : 386 | Lot #14

Building Date : 1925
Original Use : Religious Institution

Original Owner : Lemberger Congregation
Original Architect : James J. Millman

Description & Building Alterations

The building at 256 East 4^th Street was originally a synagogue that was constructed in 1925 by architect James J. Millman for the Lemberger Congregation.

Prior to its construction a brick residential building stood on the property. The building is currently a church named Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel, and the façade has changed to reflect its current use. Tax photos from 1939-41 show the building as a synagogue: above the door there was a Star of David in a round window where there is now a brick cross. The windows on either side of the door each had 36 panes of glass and those on the second and third stories had more detailed tracery in the pointed arch portions. The door and window surrounds appear to have remained the same or similar to their original design.

Block : 386 / Lot : 014 / Building Date : 1925 / Original Owner : Lemberger Congregation / Original Use : Religious Institution / Original Architect : James J. Millman

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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.