644 East 12th Street; 640-644 East 12th Street | Block : 394 | Lot #29

Building Date : N/A
Original Use : Community Garden

Original Owner : N/A
Original Architect : N/A

Description & Building Alterations

Lot 29 is currently the Campos Community Garden, but it was once a 6-story tenement building designed by Samuel Sass in 1906 for owners Louis Rosenberg & Lazarus Perelson. The New-Law tenement housed 39 families over ground-floor shops. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style, the building was red brick with contrasting light terra-cotta details and beltcourses.

Demolished prior to 1980, the lot was converted into a community garden space. In 2004, it was reinvigorated by neighbors and now is a thriving garden that is focused on growing food for the community.

Block : 394 / Lot : 029 / Building Date : N/A / Original Owner : N/A / Original Use : Community Garden / Original Architect : N/A

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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.