63 East 4th Street | Block : 460 | Lot #55

Building Date : 1890
Original Use : Residential/Commercial

Original Owner : August Ruff
Original Architect : Kurtzer & Rohl

Description & Building Alterations

This six story brick and terra cotta Queen Anne style apartment building was built in 1890. It features molded entryway and second story window surrounds, terra cotta relief panels, brick and stone pilasters on brackets at the upper stories, curved architraves, and sunbursts at the third and fifth stories. The stoop was removed and basement and first-story facades were rebuilt and storefronts installed before c. 1940. A fire escape and was installed and cornice removed before c. 1940. Other alterations include non-historic wall lamps and security gates.

Block : 460 / Lot : 55 / Building Date : 1890 / Original Owner : August Ruff / Original Use : Residential/Commercial / Original Architect : Kurtzer & Rohl

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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.