138 East 13th Street | Block : 558 | Lot #26

Description & Building Alterations

This three-story Greek Revival style row house was built between 1837 and 1839. In 1836 the lot was vacant, owned by Moulton Bullock, and valued at $3,000. Three years later, in 1839, the lot had a house, valued at $3,800 and owned by Charles Devoe. Devoe was listed as living at the corner of 13th Street and 3rd Avenue in the 1836-1837 City Directory, suggesting that this house had already been built by 1837. Originally a single-family home, it was later converted to a rooming house and then, in 1964, to a two-family home. The facade is largely intact, although a rooftop addition was recently constructed.

According to historian Tom Miller and his blog Daytonian in Manhattan, this building also has a scandalous past. After Wilhelmina Rupprecht purchased the building on January 5, 1885, it became known as the ‘Hotel Europe,’ which was run as a brothel. This continued until 1924 despite various raids, investigations, and publications covering the illegal activities within. 138 East 13th was also home to a notorious mugger, Ramigio Camacho, who confessed to over 100 muggings in Greenwich Village in 1953, preying upon revelers leaving local nightspots.

Block : 558 / Lot : 26 / Building Date : 1837 / Original Owner : Charles Devoe / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown