149 Avenue C | Block : 392 | Lot #36

Building Date : 1903
Original Use : New-Law Tenement/Commercial

Original Owner : Nevins & Perelman
Original Architect : George Frederick Pelham

Description & Building Alterations

Built in 1903 and designed by George F. Pelham, this tenement building housed 11 families and a first floor store. The 6-story tall, 3-bays wide Renaissance Revival style building has terra cotta on the upper five floors and cast iron on the first floor that feature scroll work, acanthus leaves, egg and dart trim, and other classically-inspired details popular in this aesthetic. The size of the building, about half the width of other tenements on the block from this time, differentiates it and the window openings and slightly projecting left two bays emphasize this narrow facade. The missing cornice would likely have enhanced this by exaggerating the undulation of the facade.

Block : 392 / Lot : 036 / Building Date : 1903 / Original Owner : Nevins & Perelman / Original Use : New-Law Tenement/Commercial / Original Architect : George Frederick Pelham

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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.