206 East 9th Street; 206-208 East 9th Street | Block : 464 | Lot #13

Description & Building Alterations

The ornate building at 206-208 East 9th Street was constructed in 1885-86 by George Browne Post for James Thomson as a French Flat. Eleven families were to inhabit the brick and terra cotta five-story building. The building is six bays wide and features an arched decorative terra cotta panel above each of the windows. As described in the Morrone report, George Post was an immensely important architect whose credits by this time included the Long Island Historical Society (1878-81) in Brooklyn Heights and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank (1870-75) on Broadway and Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg.

Morrone report went on to describe: as Post had done at the Long Island Historical Society, he matched the color of his terra-cotta ornamentation and of his mortar to that of the brick. The façade is powerfully rhythmical with each floor a row of six square-headed windows in arched frames, with exquisite terra-cotta work adorning the spandrels. The building’s address in gold script over the front door is one of the loveliest details in the East Village. The building was part of a wave of French flats built throughout the greater area of which this is the easternmost point.