217 Avenue A; 215-217 Avenue A | Block : 441 | Lot #33

Building Date : 1889
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Frank Wettel
Original Architect : Bruno W. Berger

Description & Building Alterations

The two five-story buildings at 215-217 Avenue A were constructed together in 1889 for stores and 18 families each. They were designed by architect Bruno W. Berger and originally owned by Frank Wettel. The two buildings share identical facades, each featuring a bracketed cornice, molded window lintels, continuous sills, beltcourses, and fluted pilasters flanking the main entries.

Block : 441 / Lot : 033 / Building Date : 1889 / Original Owner : Frank Vettel / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Bruno W. Berger

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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.