47 1/2 East 1st Street | Block : 442 | Lot #20

Building Date : 1867
Original Use : Commercial/Residential

Original Owner : William Mitchell
Original Architect : John M. Forster

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story brick tenement was built in 1867, as a pair with the building at 47 East 1st Street, by owner William Mitchell and designed by architect John M. Forster, who also designed the building at No. 45 East 1st Street.

In 1891, the storefront was removed a new one installed. At the time, the masonry and ironwork was left untouched. In 1906, the facade underwent an alteration by architect Otto Reissman. Sometime after the 1980s, the historic windows at the center bay and the small rectangular windows at the shaft were infilled with red brick and the storefront was reconfigured. The windows at the side bays were enlarged, and the historic lintels and sills were removed. The historic bracketed cornice with paneled frieze remains.

Block : 442 / Lot : 020 / Building Date : 1867 / Original Owner : William Mitchell / Original Use : Commercial/Residential / Original Architect : John M. Forster

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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.