243 East 2nd Street | Block : 384 | Lot #26

Building Date : 1871
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Ambrose Parsons
Original Architect : Charles Frederick de Borch

Description & Building Alterations

No. 243 East 2^nd Street was built in 1871 to the designs of architect Charles Frederick de Borch. Its sister building is the neighboring 245 East 2nd Street.

Both buildings were owned by Ambrose Parsons, had identical floor plans, and were detailed with matching ornamentation. A cornice of galvanized iron was lost at some point between the time the 1940s and 1980s tax photos were taken.

In 2013 the first floor and the basement were reconstructed to create better access to the building.

Block : 384 / Lot : 026 / Building Date : 1871 / Original Owner : Ambrose Parsons / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Charles Frederick de Borch

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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.