512 East 12th Street | Block : 405 | Lot #14

Building Date : 1894
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : John Richard
Original Architect : Max Muller

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story, old law tenement dates from 1894 and is designed in the Queen Anne style. It originally housed 19 families. Clad in yellow brick, the building is remarkably intact and retains its original cornice, ground floor windows, and entrance surround.

The entryway is remarkably detailed with an arched opening supported by fluted pilasters. The arch’s spandrels as well as other decorative elements around the entrance are heavily foliated with leafy and floral designs. The upper stories have a combination of straight lintels and brick segmental arches. Additionally, the facade is ornamented with stringcourses and spandrel panels that utilize a brick dogtooth pattern. The cornice has decorative brackets and a central pediment above the center two bays.

Block : 405 / Lot : 014 / Building Date : 1894 / Original Owner : John Richard / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : Max Muller

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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.