209 East 4th Street | Block : 400 | Lot #53

Description & Building Alterations

In 1859, No. 209 and its nine sibling buildings were all constructed as 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. Conrad Thile purchased this building from Astor.

The lintels on this Italianate pre-law tenement have been altered across the original four bays: They are slightly larger than those that would have been found originally on the windows.  The cornice and the unpainted brick and brownstone lintels reflect the original condition of the facade. The ground-floor shops were replaced with apartments in 1959.