32-34 East 2nd Street | Block : 458 | Lot #32

Building Date : 1901
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Joseph Polstein
Original Architect : Michael Bernstein

Description & Building Alterations

In 1901, the new law tenement at 32-34 East 2nd Street replaced two row houses that had existed on this site since the 1830s. The building was intended to be occupied by stores and 26 families. It was built for owner Joseph Polstein and designed by architect Michael Bernstein.

This brick building features a decorative basket-style fire escape, an elaborate terra-cotta entrance enframement with bracketed door hood. Other characteristics on the facade include arched and pedimented window lintels and enframements with ornaments, brick quoins flanking the side bays of the upper floors, terra-cotta beltcourses and a bracketed cornice.

Many feature, such as the stoop, windows, and storefront, have been replaced. The cornice is original.

Block : 458 / Lot : 032 / Building Date : 1901 / Original Owner : Joseph Polstein / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Michael Bernstein

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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.