172 First Avenue | Block : 438 | Lot #5

Building Date : 1840-41
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : E. Townsend
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

This four-story with basement building was originally erected in 1840-41, along with the buildings at 174-178 First Avenue. The basement and first stories are now used as a community center, the upper stories two apartments.

The present facade features a bracketed cornice with paneled frieze, stripped lintels, simple rectangular sills, and an aluminum shed roof above first story storefront. A fourth story penthouse has been constructed and is set back from the cornice above the third floor. The current storefront dates from an alteration designed by Paul Castrucci Architect in 2004.

Block : 438 / Lot : 005 / Building Date : 1840-41 / Original Owner : E. Townsend / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown

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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.