174 Avenue A; 174-180 Avenue A; 501 East 11th Street | Block : 405 | Lot #1

Building Date : 1998
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Department of Housing Preservation & Development
Original Architect : Michael Frudakis

Description & Building Alterations

This somewhat plain, post-modern brick apartment building was constructed in 1998.

Before demolition in 1984, four five-story pre-law tenements (with ground floor stores) stood here. The building that stood at 501 East 11th Street, corner of Avenue A, was home to famous author Jack Kerouac during the summer of 1953 and was said to be the inspiration for the setting of his novel, The Subterraneans.

Block : 405 / Lot : 001 / Building Date : 1998 / Original Owner : Department of Housing Preservation & Development / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Michal Frudakis

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.