539 East 13th Street | Block : 407 | Lot #41

Building Date : 1874
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : James Doherty
Original Architect : William Jose

Description & Building Alterations

This tenement was built in 1874. The angular, high relief patterns on the lintels are representative of the Neo-Grec style popular in the 1870s. The original cornice, also of the Neo-Grec style, was removed and replaced with a brick parapet some time after 1940. The second floor windows have pedimented lintels while the third and fourth have flat lintels in a corresponding style. The ground floor shops have been removed and infilled, but the pilasters on the corners appear to be original.

Block : 407 / Lot : 041 / Building Date : 1874 / Original Owner : James Doherty / Original Use : Residential / Original Architect : William Jose

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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.