175-179 East 2nd Street | Block : 397 | Lot #20-21

Description & Building Alterations

Built in 1884, this highly detailed and unique building has simple origins.  The first structures built on the lots were two rear-lot buildings — a horse stable and a one-story residence.  The tenements were built a few months later.  The ground-floor storefront housed a bakery through the middle of the 20th century.  By the late 1940s the building’s sole occupant was a bakery and the upper floors were vacant.  In the 1960s these buildings were joined with the one-story commercial building at 173 East 2nd Street and used as a meat processing facility.

The upper four floors of this tenement retain its eclectic and intricate original details.  Like most tenements at the time, the building contains a variety of different styles melded together, likely based upon availability of material.  The stone lintels are incised with simple details in the Neo-Grec tradition.  The detailed brickwork and tripartite cornice with pendants on the brackets is more in keeping with the Queen Anne aesthetic.  The ground floor originally had storefronts and an entry to the upper floors at the right-most bay (see c. 1940 tax photo). It was later converted to apartments and replaced with a modern stone facade.

For organizational consistency, the old lot number has been retained on this page, but please note the lot has since been re-numbered 7501.