125 East 12th Street; 130-132 East 13th Street; 125-129 East 12th Street | Block : 558 | Lot #7503

Building Date : 1888
Original Use : Commercial

Original Owner : Van Tassel & Kearny
Original Architect : David & John Jardine

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story red brick building was constructed in 1888 by David & John Jardine for the Van Tassel & Kearny Auction Stables. The building became a factory for the King Philip Chocolate Company in 1916, which then became U.R.S. Candy stores, and then Happiness Candy Stores. In 1943, three of the building’s floors were converted into a powder-puff factory.

The building is designed in the arcaded brick warehouse style. The third and fourth floor window are contained by two-story arches, and the fifth floor is contained by double-ached windows. Above this, the building sports bands of corbels and an original cornice. The cast-iron ground floor is differentiated with a green, wooden row of windows and fluted pilasters. On the upper stories, each floor has a different patterning of windows, including standard squares and round arched double windows, each with a rounded detailing above. Decorative moldings run horizontally between each story. A detailed cornice tops the building with a pediment on the roof.

This was previously Lot 22 and then Lots 1207-1244.

Block : 558 / Lot : 7503 / Building Date : 1888 / Original Owner : Van Tassel & Kearny / Original Use : Commercial / Original Architect : David & John Jardine

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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.