36 Avenue A | Block : 398 | Lot #6

Building Date : Mid-19th c./1939 alt.
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Lark Equities (1939)
Original Architect : Samuel Roth (1939)

Description & Building Alterations

Originally this lot held four mid-19th century buildings, which by the 20th century were six stories tall and combined into two buildings as seen in historic maps. In 1939 the top floor was removed and the two buildings were made into one cohesive building with five apartments on four floors and stores on the first floor. The original brick facade has been painted and the lintels and sills shaved down, making it difficult to see these details. With the loss of the upper floor, the original cornice has also been lost, but the projecting brick detail near the top of the building, a popular detail of the mid-1900s, remains.

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in America, operated a series of dispensaries in several locations around the East Village prior to opening the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. In 1853-54, she had a dispensary in a previous building at this site. The address was then 36 Avenue A/136 East 3rd Street.

Block : 398 / Lot : 6 / Building Date : Mid-19th c./1939 alt. / Original Owner : Lark Equities (1939) / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Samuel Roth (1939)

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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.

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