171 East 2nd Street | Block : 397 | Lot #18

Building Date : 1907
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Margaret W. Folsom
Original Architect : Mills & Greenleaf

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story building was constructed as a tenement in 1907 to house 17 families. It was designed by Mills & Greenleaf, and it appears to be one of their earliest commissions in New York City (they formed in 1906). The building is a very simple Colonial Revival design, which features a brick facade, decorative brick lintels, and a brick and terra-cotta cornice.

No alteration applications were found to indicate the facade has changed drastically over the years. The c. 1940 tax photo shows a facade very similar to the one we see today.

Block : 397 / Lot : 18 / Building Date : 1907 / Original Owner : Margaret W. Folsom / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Mills & Greenleaf

Do you know this building? Please share your own stories or photos of this building here!

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.