203 East 4th Street | Block : 400 | Lot #56

Building Date : 1859
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : William B. Astor
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

In 1859, No. 203 was constructed along with the nine others in this row of identical five-story tenements with basements. The development of these buildings, which started at 193 and proceeded east down the block, was a speculative real estate investment of William B. Astor, who sold each building as soon as it was completed. Bernard Amena purchased this building from Astor.

This Italianate pre-law tenement retains its original window lintels and sills, but some of them have been wrapped in metal, changing the details and proportions. It has also lost its pressed-metal cornice. Half of the first floor is occupied by a store and the other half is an apartment. It is unclear when this alteration occurred, but it appears to have been in this configuration by 1949.

Block : 400 / Lot : 56 / Building Date : 1859 / Original Owner: William B. Astor / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / 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.