543 East 6th Street; 543 1/2 East 6th Street | Block : 402 | Lot #43

Building Date : 1884
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Esther Marks
Original Architect : Edward Kenny

Description & Building Alterations

This building is a rear structure on the back of lot 43 that is oriented toward East 6th street. The five-story tenement building has a simple facade with flat sandstone lintels that are accentuated by off-set stringcourses of matching stone. The sandstone window sills are also connected by a similar stringcourse. The Neo-Grec cornice has angular brackets and block modillions. The ground floor appears to have an original cornice as well as decorative cast iron pilasters around the right side doorway.

Block : 402 / Lot : 043 / Building Date : 1884 / Original Owner : Esther Marks / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Edward Kenny

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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.