20 St. Mark’s Place | Block : 463 | Lot #19

Description & Building Alterations

The four-story Daniel Leroy House was built in 1831 and is one of the original structures along St. Mark’s Place built by real estate speculator Thomas E. Davis. Daniel Leroy, husband of Peter Stuyvesant’s descendant Susan Fish, was one of the first owners of this building. Susan Fish was the daughter of Nicolas and Elizabeth Stuyvesant-Fish, and the sister of Hamilton Fish. Leroy was also the brother-in-law of Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. In 1860, no. 20 St. Mark’s Place was used as a gymnasium annex by the National Guard’s 7th Regiment, whose headquarters were located around the corner on East 7th Street and Third Avenue. A New York Times article reported that the house was used for the 7th Regiment’s “sparring, fencing, dressing, bathing, and reading rooms.” The building was designated a New York City Landmark in December of 1966.

The lower level of the building is faced with limestone blocks, and the upper levels are red brick laid in Flemish bond. The solid limestone steps that lead to the lower level have been visibly worn down over the last 180 years. According to proprietors, the building still boasts up to 90 percent of its original structure, including the window drams on the upper floors. The building features dormers, six-over-six windows, and a semi-elliptical fanlight. Its pointed molded marble lintels, marble stoop, and marble doorway surround amplify the building’s grandeur. This heavy rusticated enframement uses five vermiculated blocks on each side of the doorway, and another at the top, which holds a paneled keystone. The French parlor windows on the first floor were added soon after the building’s original construction. Later, the Italianate-style wooden doors were added to the front entrance way, and the original circular transom was redesigned. Other than that, much of the exterior remains intact. The interior has been redesigned several times over the years.