237 First Avenue; 235-237 First Avenue; 350 East 14th Street | Block : 455 | Lot #33

Building Date : 1949
Original Use : Commercial

Original Owner : First Federal Saving & Loan Association
Original Architect : R.B. O'Connor & W.H. Kiham Jr.

Description & Building Alterations

Built in 1949, this five-story building was originally the First Federal Savings & Loan Bank, designed by R.B. O’Conner & W.H. Kiham Jr. The building housed a vault, offices, banking hall, and a store front. In 1951, two dental offices were housed in the upper floors of the building. It is five stories in height, three bays on the First Avenue elevation and five bays at the East 14th Street elevation. It is clad in brick in a Flemish stretcher bond. There are limestone classical details and belt courses above and below the top story. A limestone cornice caps the first floor. There are stone lintels with keystones at the second floor. The corner of the building is chamferred and the main entry is at that corner. The entry features a classical surround with pediment and half columns. Some of the first floor windows are arched with limestone keystones. The building no longer houses a bank; however, the name of the original tenant is carved in the limestone over the first floor.

Block : 455 / Lot : 033 / Building Date : 1949 / Original Owner : First Federal Savings & Loan Association / Original Use : Commercial / Original Architect : R.B. O’Connor & W. H. Kilham Jr.

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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.