197 East 3rd Street | Block : 399 | Lot #39

Building Date : 1877
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : William Duckgeischel
Original Architect : August H. Blankenstein

Description & Building Alterations

Built in 1877 to house 17 families over ground-floor shops, this pre-law tenement was designed by August H. Blankenstein. Blankenstein worked primarily with German clients and had a relationship with the Roman Catholic Church also on this street. Designed in the Neo-Grec style, the original window lintels were shaved and their upper triangular pediments were removed and replaced with brick infill. The pressed metal cornice is retained.

Block : 399 / Lot : 39 / Building Date : 1877 / Original Owner : William Duckgeischel / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : August H. Blankenstein

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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.