309 East 5th Street | Block : 447 | Lot #53

Building Date : 1907
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Hyman Levin
Original Architect : Chas M. Straub

Description & Building Alterations

This nine-bay wide, six-story tenement with stores was built in 1907 for owner Hyman Levin by architect Chas M. Straub.

There have been no significant alterations on the facade, which features a molded bracketed cornice, beltcourses, and splayed window lintels with keystones. The main entrance has elaborate enframement with flanking carved pilasters, a door hood and frieze.

This was the residence of one person, Morris Bernstein, who perished in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (see sidebar).

Block : 447 / Lot : 053 / Building Date : 1907 / Original Owner : Hyman Levin / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Chas M. 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.