223 First Avenue | Block : 455 | Lot #40

Building Date : 1849-1850
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Patrick Ryan
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

According to tax assessment records this building was constructed along with Lots 38-42 in 1849-1850. This lot was owned by Patrick Ryan. In 1885 a one-story rear addition was added, and cast-iron girders were placed within the front and rear walls to support the upper floors. According to tax photos, the storefront has been altered but the original modillioned cornice and stone lintels with keystones and stone sills remain. It is four stories high, three bays wide, and clad in brick.

Block : 455 / Lot : 040 / Building Date : 1849-1850 / Original Owner : Patrick Ryan / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown

Do you know this building? Please share your own stories or photos of this building here!

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.