529 East 12th Street; 527-529 East 12th Street | Block : 406 | Lot #50

Building Date : 1900
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Irving Kempner
Original Architect : George Frederick Pelham

Description & Building Alterations

This pair of old law tenements was designed in the Renaissance Revival style, though each cornice has been removed and the ground floors have been altered. Today a single central entrance leads to the upper floors, but each building would have originally had a raised entry accessed by a stoop. The elaborate surrounds where the former doors were located are still there, but they now frame paired windows.

In 1978, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat moved into an apartment in this building with then-girlfriend Alexis Adler. While living here, Basquiat began frequenting downtown hotspots including the Mudd Club in Tribeca and East Village venues such as Club 57 on St. Marks Place and CBGB‘s on Bowery. This is one of two East Village buildings where Basquiat lived; he moved to 68 East 1st Street in 1981.

Block : 406 / Lot : 050 / Building Date : 1900 / Original Owner : Irving Kempner / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : George Frederick Pelham

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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.