127 Fourth Avenue; 127-135 Fourth Avenue; 100-104 East 13th Street | Block : 558 | Lot #10

Description & Building Alterations

Two buildings currently occupy this lot: a seven-story L-shaped brick building at 127 Fourth Avenue/104 East 13^th Street and a one-story convenience store at the corner, 135 Fourth Avenue. The first building was constructed by owner George W. Levy and architects Marsh, Israels & Harder in 1895. It was occupied by Hammacher & Schlemmer, the city’s first hardware store, in 1904. Hammacher & Schlemmer, founded in 1848 by German immigrants William Schlemmer and Alfred Hammacher, had been operating at 221 Bowery before moving to this location.

This building has an elaborate façade facing Fourth Avenue and a relatively more modest design fronting East 13^th Street. The Fourth Avenue façade features classical details that include Composite half-columns stretching from the fourth to the sixth stories. The seventh story’s windows are encased with rounded, multi-layered arches. The bottom two stories are constructed with a different stone in the Beaux Arts style. The entrance is topped with a round window (known as a roundel), surrounded with vegetal décor. The East 13^th Street facade is also seven stories. The first story is set off against the brown brick by white paint. There are two entrance ways, both of which are round-headed arches. The brickwork on the first three stories displays a horizontal line composed with larger bricks, while the upper stories are comprised of smaller, multi-colored bricks. An egg and dart cornice caps off the structure…