134 East 13th Street, 134-136 East 13th Street | Block : 558 | Lot #24

Description & Building Alterations

Tax records suggest that these buildings were constructed in 1853 by owner George Law. An alteration permit from 1881 describes the building as a stable and shops with multiple dwellings. Lithographer R. Teller, who illustrated piano sheet music, was located at 136 East 13th Street in the late 19th century.

Since 1973, the ground floor of this building has been home to the Classic Stage Company, founded in 1967 and one of New York’s longest operating Off Broadway theaters. There is evidence that the space has operated as a theater since at least the 1920s, including the Mercury Theater and the Abbey Theatre in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The building also appears to have been, at least at some point, linked to the theater at 100 Third Avenue, which it connects with at the rear.

The facade had been altered by the time the 1980s tax photo was taken.