508 East 6th Street | Block : 401 | Lot #14

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story pre-law Italianate tenement was built in 1859 as one in a row of 12 identical tenements by wealthy landowner and developer William B. Astor.  The row was built in conjunction with another matching row of tenements between Nos. 193 and 209 East 4th Street that Astor built the same year.

The small windows were inserted into the facade in 1918, likely when indoor plumbing was brought into the building.  During this remodel, the building occupancy went from 10 families living over stores to 18 families.  In 1939 the ground-floor shops were converted into apartments.  The rest of the original details remain, including the pressed metal cornice and window lintels and sills.