137 Avenue C | Block : 391 | Lot #33

Building Date : 1848/2014 alt.
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Willits/515 West 47th Street LLC
Original Architect : Unknown/Issac and Stern Architects P.C.

Description & Building Alterations

In 2014 renovation started on the exterior and interior of the building thereby altering its appearance significantly. The new structure was completed in 2015.

The original building likely dated from 1848 and would always have had a store on the first floor. In the 1940 tax photo, the building had an Italianate cornice. The fire escape dates from 1948 when the owner, Lily Wiess, was instructed to remove the fire escape from the rear of the building and erect one on the front.

Block : 391 / Lot : 033 / Building Date : 1848/2014 alt. / Original Owner : Willits/515 West 47th Street LLC / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect: Unknown/Issac and Stern Architects P.C.

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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.