38 Avenue B; 199-201 East 3rd Street | Block : 399 | Lot #38

Description & Building Alterations

This corner building, located on the southwest corner of Avenue B and East 3rd Street, was designed by Alfred E. Badt in 1903 as a tenement for 10 families over ground-floor stores.  The Renaissance Revival style building employs light bricks combined with classically inspired terra cotta details — egg-and-dart window enframements, scrolled keystones, Greek-key beltcourse, and segmentally arched windows on the third floor with vine-like details in the lintels — that are all typical of this style.  The brick is laid with recessed rows that almost give the facade the appearance that is is made of stone, another feature of the Renaissance Revival as it gave the impression of permanence.  The building has also retained its cornice with the pressed detail of garland swags.