238 East 14th Street; 238-240 East 14th Street | Block : 469 | Lot #27

Description & Building Alterations

Built as one of a row of New-Law tenements in 1902, 238-240 East 14th Street was designed by Sass & Smallheiser and housed 22 families over ground-floor shops.  The brick building with terra-cotta details employs the Renaissance Revival style. The outer-bay, second floor windows are bow windows surrounded by detailed ionic columns and topped with a Greek key motif. They support a double-window, fluted spandrel panel that follows the same bow, giving the illusion of an almost balcony for the windows above. The four recessed bays on the second floor have exaggerated keystones and full window surrounds. The second floor also has recessed beltcourses, originally of white brick that contrasted the dark red brick, a popular feature of Renaissance Revival tenement design. The windows on the third through fifth floors have either splayed lintels or full enframements all in classically inspired motifs. The sixth floor, like the second, has recessed beltcourses. The pressed-metal cornice follows the curve of the projecting bays and acts as a lintel for the sixth floor windows.

The entire facade has been painted, altering the contrast and thus the reading of the building.