68 East 1st Street | Block : 443 | Lot #41

Description & Building Alterations

This seven-story brick tenement building was erected in 1899 by owner Benedict Klein. The building has the same design as the buildings on lots 20, 35 and 48, all by the same architect, George Frederick Pelham, and was constructed as part of a series of three along with the buildings on lots 44 and 45, which have been demolished. It was to be occupied by 30 families and stores on the ground floor.

In 1981, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat moved into an apartment in this building with then-girlfriend Suzanne Mallouk. While living here, Basquiat’s work was featured in the New York/New Wave exhibition at the PS 1 Institute for Art and Urban Resources (now MoMA PS1), along with the works of other downtown artists including Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe. This is one of two East Village buildings where Basquiat lived; he was previously living at 527 East 12th Street in 1978.