233 East 3rd Street; 233-235 East 3rd Street | Block : 386 | Lot #53

Building Date : 1898
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Samuel J. Ruth
Original Architect : Horenburger & Straub

Description & Building Alterations

This six-story Old Law Tenement building was designed by architects Horenburger and Straub for owner Samuel J. Ruth. It was built in 1898.

Three stores and three apartments occupied the first floor, and six families lived on each of the upper floors. The building had its decorative cornice removed at some point. Ornamental window moldings and belt courses decorate the white brick façade. A Certificate of Occupancy obtained in 1940 shows that stores no longer existed on the first floor, and instead were replaced by additional apartments. The total number of units in that year was reduced to 29, consistent with its current capacity.

Block : 386 / Lot : 053 / Building Date : 1898 / Original Owner : Samuel J. Ruth / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Horenburger & Straub

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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.