139 East 13th Street | Block : 559 | Lot #43

Building Date : 1905
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Martin Heller
Original Architect : L.A. Goldstone

Description & Building Alterations

Constructed in 1905 by architect L.A. Goldstone, this new law tenement was built to house 15 families. In 1966, the cellar was converted from commercial space to storage space and an efficiency apartment was added to the first floor, which had also previously been used as commercial space. Following the 1966 alteration, the cellar housed the super and the remaining six floors each held 3 apartments.

Block : 559 / Lot : 43 / Building Date : 1905 / Original Owner : Martin Heller / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : L.A. Goldstone

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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.