104 East 4th Street; 104-106 East 4th Street | Block : 445 | Lot #18

Building Date : 1886
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : John Pilgrim
Original Architect : Ernest W. Gris

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story old law tenement was originally built with space for stores in the basement and apartments for 28 families. By the 1940s, the number of families in the building decreased to 22.

The building underwent a series of minor alterations in 1907, 1935, 1938 and 1947. The current facade features Queen Anne-style elements, especially at the cornice with a pedimented central piece, brackets and decorative woodwork.

Block : 445 / Lot : 018 / Building Date : 1886 / Original Owner : John Pilgrim / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Ernest W. Gris

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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.