55 Avenue C; 55-61 Avenue C | Block : 387 | Lot #37

Building Date : 1889
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : Estate of A. Dodin
Original Architect : G. Bonanno

Description & Building Alterations

No. 55 Avenue C is a five-story residential building constructed in 1889, with stores on the first floor and 24 residential units above.

A large, arched door with a gate-like metal grille leads to a recessed entryway. The arch is flanked on either side by storefronts and topped by a decorative lintel. The façade of the building is studded with a number of subtle floral details in posts and beams and again with rosettes at the top of the building. A cornice that was visible in a 1980’s tax photo has since been removed.

Block : 387 / Lot : 037 / Building Date : 1889 / Original Owner : Estate of A. Dodin / Original Use : Residential/Commercial/ Original Architect : G. Bonanno

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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.