87 East 2nd Street | Block : 443 | Lot #30

Building Date : 1871
Original Use : Residential

Original Owner : Ferdinand Emerling
Original Architect : William Jose

Description & Building Alterations

Originally, a two-story pre-old law tenement was constructed on this site in 1871 by architect William Jose, who was known for his tenement designs. By 1897, the double-lot building was raised to five stories. Occupied by stores in 1940, the first floor was later converted into residential space. Some elements from the former storefront are still visible on this part of the facade, such as the flat cornice and pilasters.

The Romanesque Revival facade features brick and terra-cotta. The first story consists of a storefront that is painted black, which creates the first register. The second register consists of the second and the third stories. Separated by a thin brick beltcourse, they both possess arched lintels above the windows. The last register is comprises the fourth and fifth stories. The windows extend both stories and are framed by arched openings. The fifth story is topped by a decorative frieze. The building also features foliated spandrels and friezes, and animal-head keystones. The modillioned cornice has been removed since the 1980s.

Block : 443 / Lot : 030 / Building Date : 1871 / Original Owner : Ferdinand Emerling / Original Use : Commercial/Residential / Original Architect : William Jose

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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.