520 East 6th Street | Block : 401 | Lot #20

Building Date : 1859-1860
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : William B. Astor
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

This five-story pre-law Italianate tenement was built in 1859-1860 as one in a row of 12 identical tenements by wealthy landowner and developer William B. Astor. This row was built in conjunction with another matching row of tenements between Nos. 193 and 209 East 4th Street that Astor built the same year.

With a bowling alley in the basement in 1901, this building must have been a fun place for the eight families in the building to live.

The brick and lintels have been painted, and the lintels that have not been shaved down appear to be wrapped in metal, which obscures some of the original details. The cornice is retained, but it is interesting to note that it is a different cornice than the one used on the western portion of this row of tenements and the related tenements on East 4th Street.

Block : 401 / Lot : 020 / Building Date : 1859-1860 / Original Owner : William B. Astor / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Unknown

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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.