188 Avenue A; 500 East 12th Street | Block : 405 | Lot #8

Building Date : 1851
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Henry Manders
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story building was likely built as a four-story rowhouse in 1851, according to tax records. Unlike its once identical neighbor at 186 Avenue A, this corner building retains its historic lintels and bracketed cornice. The fifth story may have been added in 1871. On the 12th Street side, there is evidence that some earlier windows openings were filled in with brick and painted over.

The building shares balconies (known as fire balconies) with its neighbor, which are like fire escapes in that they provide a second form of egress for the apartments. The intent is that in the case of a fire, a tenant could enter the neighboring building through the connecting windows. The party wall between the two buildings was supposed to serve as enough of a fire-break in order to provide a safe route to escape.

Block : 405 / Lot : 008 / Building Date : 1851 / Original Owner : Henry Manders / 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.