31 East 1st Street | Block : 442 | Lot #11

Building Date : 1885
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Daniel Tier
Original Architect : Martin Louis Ungrich

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story brick tenement was built in 1885 by owner Daniel Tier and was designed by architect Martin Louis Ungrich. The building was originally occupied by eight families (two per floor above the first).

The present facade features a peaked parapet with diamond design, simple entrance enframement with pediment and pilasters, and molded window lintels. Decorative brickwork can be seen below the window lintels and in the beltcourse between the third and fourth floors. In 1907, the first story facade was altered. The alteration involved removing piers and other changes for a store on the ground floor. The building appears as it did in a 1980s tax photo, viewable at the sidebar.

Block : 442 / Lot : 011 / Building Date : 1885 / Original Owner : Daniel Tier / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Martin Louis Ungrich

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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.