239 East 2nd Street | Block : 384 | Lot #24

Building Date : 1871
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : John Donohue
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

The five-story pre-law tenement at 239 East 2^nd Street was constructed in 1871, based on tax records from that year. Faced in brick, it retains some original ornamentation around the windows. The cornice was removed at some point after the 1980s tax photo was taken (see sidebar).

In 1905, the basement housed a bakery and the ground floor held a store and two families. The ground floor has since been altered. There were a total of 16 families on the upper four stories. Since 1991, the building has contained seven residential units.

Block : 384 / Lot : 024 / Building Date : 1871 / Original Owner : John Donohue / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown

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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.