91 Second Avenue | Block : 461 | Lot #33

Building Date : 1843-45, altered 2005
Original Use : Residential (1843), Residential/Commercial (2005)

Original Owner : Joseph R. Stuyvesant or T. Donnelly
Original Architect : Unknown (1834), Israel Peles (2005)

Description & Building Alterations

The building was raised from four to five stories in 1886, the sixth story was constructed in 2005-07, at which time the entire facade was replaced.

Several sources reference this structure as the childhood home of brothers and songwriting team Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) and George Gershwin (1898-1937). Located in the heart of the Yiddish Theater District, the family lived on the second floor of 91 Second Avenue. The story goes that when George was about 12 years old, the family bought a piano which was hoisted into their apartment through the window of the front room. Upon delivery of the instrument, George immediately sat down and played a popular tune of the day which he had practiced previously at the home of a friend who lived on 7th Street.

Block : 461 / Lot : 33 / Building Date : 1843-45, altered 2005 / Original Owner : Joseph R. Stuyvesant or T. Donnelly / Original Use : Residential (1843), Residential/Commercial (2005) / Original Architect : Unknown (1834), Israel Peles (2005)

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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.