355 1/2 Bowery | Block : 459 | Lot #5

Building Date : 1837-39
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Edmund Griffen
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

The two narrow houses at Nos. 355 & 355 1/2 Bowery are the oldest buildings on this block of the Bowery. They were constructed in 1837-39 and were owned by Edmund Griffen. The original decorative details below the cornice have been mostly removed.

The 3 1/2-story building is on the site of a stable owned by Griffen.

Block : 459 / Lot : 005 / Building Date : 1837-39/ Original Owner : Edmund Griffen / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Unknown

Do you know this building? Please share your own stories or photos of this building here!

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.