47-55 East 2nd Street | Block : 443 | Lot #9

Building Date : 1890
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Estate of S. B. H. Judah
Original Architect : D. & J. Jardine

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story Romanesque Revival apartment building was constructed in 1890 as two buildings, designed by architects D. & J. Jardine, with eight families per building (two families per floor) and stores on the first floor.

The facade features multicolored bricks. The chimney and the arched window lintels on the top story are made of red brick, contrasting with yellow bricks on the rest of the facade. The existing historic cornice frieze is made of terra cotta. A cornice at the first floor level has been removed and the upper portion of the roof cornice has been removed. The middle floors feature stone window lintels and sills. The original cast-iron piers are still visible, though the storefront has been infilled, probably during a renovation dating to 1939.

Block : 443 / Lot : 009 / Building Date : 1890 / Original Owner : Estate of S. B. H. Judah / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : D. & J. Jardine

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.