527 East 5th Street | Block : 401 | Lot #50

Building Date : 1860-1861 (altered)
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : William B. Astor
Original Architect : Unknown

Description & Building Alterations

Built as a row of 13 speculative tenements developed by William B. Astor in 1860-61, the last 10 buildings, including No. 527, were constructed using the same plan with only minor alterations as material availability changed. The construction began on the western portion of the block and moved east.

No. 527 was designed in the Italianate style, but has lost all of its original detail. The lintels, which would have been simple, arched brownstone, have been removed along with the pressed-metal cornice and the raised-stoop entrance. The small windows that are now glass block were installed in 1904.

Block : 401 / Lot : 050 / Building Date : 1860-1861 (altered) / Original Owner : William B. Astor / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Unknown

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.