68 East 7th Street | Block : 448 | Lot #18

Description & Building Alterations

This three-story Greek Revival-style row house was originally built in 1835 and altered with Italianate elements in 1882. It was constructed by developer Thomas E. Davis who in 1835 owned all of the lots on the south side of East 7th Street between Second and First Avenues. The 1836 tax assessment record shows the first owner of the new house ass William Goodein. From 1882 until 1904, the property served as the Protestant Episcopal Church Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews. It then became a school run by the Machzikei Talmud Torah, after which it turned into a synagogue. It was returned to private use in 1960.

The building features a masonry base, brick upper stories, a brownstone stoop, Flemish bond brickwork, six-over-six windows, pedimented window lintels, and molded sills with brackets. The entrance portico with simple pilasters supporting a molded entablature, the window pediments, the garlanded frieze, and the denticulated cornice are all designed in the Italianate style. It is possible that the primary wood door is an original element, but the paneled doorway probably dates from a later alteration.