212 East 13th Street | Block : 468 | Lot #15

Building Date : 1901
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : D. Brubacher & Charles Rentz
Original Architect : Charles Rentz

Description & Building Alterations

The twin New-Law tenements at Numbers 208 and 212 East 13th Street were constructed simultaneously in 1901 by architect Charles Rentz who was also co-owner of the two buildings with D. Brubacher, a wine merchant. The brick building with brownstone details was designed in the Neo-Classical style with full window enframements and angular lintels and keystones. The sixth floor windows are arched with the enframements and keystones following that shape. The buildings would have had a classically-inspired cornice originally. The ground floor of 212 has been altered, but would have looked like that of 208.

Block : 468 / Lot : 015 / Building Date : 1901 / Original Owner : D. Brubacher and Charles Rentz / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Charles Rentz

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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.