191 Avenue A; 191-193 Avenue A; 444 East 12th Street | Block : 439 | Lot #28

Building Date : 1851-53 (no. 191 & 193), pre-1890s (no. 444)
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : David Keiser
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

Three buildings stand on this lot. The two tenements at 191 & 193 Avenue A were probably built in 1851-53. Their first stories were combined as a funeral parlor in the mid- to late 20th century. The one-story building with a stepped parapet peaked at center was erected prior to the 1890s, when it can be seen on a historic map published at that time. It was used as a chapel at one point.

The tenements on Avenue A currently share an identical facade, featuring simple bracketed cornice with frieze, molded window lintels and simple rectangular sills. The first-story front appears to have been largely altered.

Block : 439 / Lot : 028 / Building Date : 1851-53 (no. 191 & 193), pre-1890s (no. 444) / Original Owner : David Keiser / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown

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.