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NoHo Historic District 25th Anniversary Tour, Part I
The NoHo Historic District was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on June 29, 1999, with the NoHo East Historic District designated in 2003 and expansions to the original district boundaries approved in 2008. This virtual walking tour features 25 buildings within the approximately 130-building original NoHo Historic District, in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The highlighted buildings represent the range of construction periods and array of building types, styles, and uses that occur throughout the district. We encourage you to explore this fascinating stretch of Manhattan virtually, or to use this tour as a jumping-off point as you take your own walk through the historic district!
The three-part tour is organized by phases of development, based upon the same categories found within the LPC NoHo Designation Report. Part I includes buildings constructed between the 1830s and 1850s:
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Urbanization Begins: The Federal and Greek Revival Period a) 428-432 Lafayette Street, Colonnade Row b) 732 Broadway, "Treffurth's" c) 381 Lafayette Street d) 2 Bond Street e) 58 Bleecker Street, the James Roosevelt House
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The Development of Social and Cultural Institutions f) 423-437 Lafayette Street, Astor Library (now The Public Theater)
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The Store and Loft Building Type in the NoHo Historic District g) 645-647 Broadway h) 635 Broadway
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Cast Iron-Fronted Buildings in NoHo i) 620 Broadway (aka 154 Crosby Street)
-- To progress to Part II of the tour, click here. To skip ahead to Part III of the tour, click here.
Colonnade Row
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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Colonnade Row
Landmark Designation Photograph, June 1999
LaGrange Terrace, otherwise known as Colonnade Row (428-432 Lafayette Street), is a series of marble-faced, Greek Revival style row houses built in the early 1830s on land previously owned by German immigrant John Jacob Astor, who had acquired it in 1804. The buildings were among the first to receive individual landmark status on October 14, 1965, the very year the NYC Landmarks Law was adopted. The row was then included in the NoHo Historic District when it was designated in June, 1999.
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Colonnade Row
The intact LaGrange Terrace in 1890
With the design and construction attributed to Seth Geer, the original row included nine Greek Revival style buildings (four of which remain extant and comprise the landmark site), all featuring the iconic Corinthian colonnade that was built to resemble and honor the estate of American Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette.
Previously home to some of New York City's most elite residents, the buildings were subsequently subdivided into apartments and commercial space following the Civil War. Five of the nine houses were demolished in 1901. Today, one of the occupants is the Astor Place Theatre and its long-running Blue Man Group, a performance art company connected to the Public Theater, which is located at the former Astor Library building across the street. Click here to learn more about Colonnade Row.
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732 BROADWAY
Photograph by Village Preservation, 2024
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732 BROADWAY
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
This mixed-use Renaissance Revival building was constructed pre-1854 and was significantly altered in 1900 by architect Bruno W. Berger. Its current facade, which dates to the turn-of-the-last-century redesign, is composed of red brick with a cast-iron projecting show window at the second and third floors, and original cast iron columns at the ground floor storefront (though the storefront infill is modern). The prominent galvanized cornice at the top floor features scrolled and foliated brackets, dentils, and the lettering “Treffurth's."
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732 BROADWAY
No. 732 is the rightmost four-story yellow house depicted here, pre-1900 alteration. Image c. 1899, courtesy Village Preservation's Historic Image Archive.
This building is an example of the adaptive reuse of original 19th-century row houses that occurred in the neighborhood. The first iteration of the building was likely a three-and-a-half story peaked-roof house, raised to a full fourth story in 1885. By the time of the 1900 alteration, the building was leased to Richard L. Treffurth, a German immigrant, like many of the residents and business and property owners in the area at the time, who had a restaurant on the ground floor, and whose name plate is retained at the roof cornice.
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381 Lafayette Street
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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381 Lafayette Street
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
The original address of 381 Lafayette Street was 6 Lafayette Place (prior to the street being extended south of Great Jones Street and renamed in the early 20th century). What started out as an earlier private residence was sold to The Mission of the Immaculate Virgin for the Protection of Homeless and Destitute Children in 1888. That organization then erected a large neighboring residential hall at Nos. 2 and 4 Lafayette Place, while No. 6 became the convent and chapel for the nuns who operated the mission home. The building underwent a renovation in 1890, when two additional stories were erected, a rear extension added, and a new Northern Renaissance Revival style facade installed, with its brownstone panelled entrance portico, rusticated brownstone base, and terra cotta detailing at upper floors.
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381 Lafayette Street
381 Lafayette Street south sidewall with ghost sign, northeast corner of Great Jones Street, 1970s. Photograph by Carole Teller, courtesy Village Preservation's Historic Image Archive.
By 1930, the large mission residence was being demolished after a decade of vacancy when most of the charity's functions were moved to Staten Island. The convent building, by now numbered 381 Lafayette Street, remained owned and used by the mission until 1965. The painted sign on the side of the building relates to its work with homeless children.
The building was sold and resold in the 1960s to the artist Robert Rauschenberg. No. 381 became his studio and home until his death in 2008. Today the building (which underwent a further facade restoration in 2008) remains the home of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Click here to learn more about Rauschenberg and his life and work in the neighborhood.
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2 BOND STREET
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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2 BOND STREET
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
This four-story structure was built in 1828-29 as a house for David S. Jones. By the late 19th century it had been converted to manufacturing use, like many buildings in the area, and served as a shirtwaist and skirt cutting factory. The building's lower floors were later given over to commercial uses, which precipitated the introduction of the large show windows at the basement, first, and second floors, which remain extant today. The building is now mixed-use, with retail, offices, and residential space.
From 1973 to 1979, it was home to "Ladies’ Fort," a jazz performance space, set up by Joe Lee Wilson, a jazz vocalist, who lived in the basement of the building at the time. Among its programs, Ladies Fort hosted "Jazz at Dawn," which ran from 6-10am. As noted by William Hermes in his book, Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever, "For some fans, \[Jazz at Dawn] began their day; for others, it ended their night.”
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58 Bleecker Street
58 Bleecker Street in 2011
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58 Bleecker Street
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
Built in 1822-23, this Federal style brick carriage house is the earliest extant home on the tour. It was designed by architects Babb, Cook & Willard for Jacobus "James" Roosevelt III, great grandfather of future president Franklin D. Roosevelt. After James Roosevelt died in 1847, his widow, Harriet Howland Roosevelt, remained in the building for another decade, and in 1857 it was converted to an infirmary for women and children by Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States.
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58 Bleecker Street
In 2018, Village Preservation (then called the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation) placed this plaque in honor of Blackwell and her important work here. Click here to learn more about Blackwell and her legacy.
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Astor Library (now The Public Theater)
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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Astor Library (now The Public Theater)
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
Another early individual landmark in the neighborhood, the former Astor Library achieved this status and was saved from demolition thanks to the remarkable work of visionary theatrical producer and director Joseph Papp, who saw the then-derelict building as an opportunity, and opened the Public Theater here in 1967.
The Early Romanesque Revival style building, as it stands today, was built in several phases: The south wing was designed by architect Alexander Saeltzer, and constructed from 1849-53; the center section was designed by architect Griffith Thomas, and constructed from 1856-59; and the north wing was designed by architect Thomas Stent, and constructed from 1879-81.
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Astor Library (now The Public Theater)
The Astor Library Building in 1911
Initially, the building held the Astor Library, which opened to the public in 1854. With its 80,000 volumes, it became the first branch of the New York Public Library; by 1890, its collection had expanded to over 260,000 volumes.
Following this library branch's closure, the building became the world headquarters of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) for nearly half a century, from 1921-1965, and acted as a temporary shelter for Jewish refugees and immigrants to the United States, in addition to providing other services.
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Astor Library (now The Public Theater)
The original production of Hair in 1967, via the New York Public Library Billy Rose Theatre Division
Joe Papp opened the Public Theater at the former Astor Library in 1967, with the debut production of the musical Hair. One of the nation's first non-profit theaters, the Public has premiered many renowned hits, such as A Chorus Line and Hamilton, and continues to be at the forefront of NYC's live theater scene, including as the organizer of the beloved NYC summer tradition, Shakespeare in the Park. Click here to read more about the history of the Public Theater in NoHo.
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647 Broadway
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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647 Broadway
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
Built in 1858-59, Nos. 645-647 are a pair of Italianate store and lofts buildings. Both feature original cast iron columns at the ground level and bracketed stone sills beneath segmental arch-headed windows at their upper floors.
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647 Broadway
From 1859 to 1864, the basement of No. 647 was home to Pfaff’s, a beer and wine cellar that operated in similar fashion to a German Rathskeller, or beer saloon. Pfaff’s holds a very significant place in LGBTQ+ history, 19th century Bohemian culture, and the life of the poet Walt Whitman, who was a regular patron here.
A century later, from 1970 to 1974, musical host David Mancuso held all-night invitation-only house parties in his loft on the second floor of the building. His guests were of different races, sexualities, and economic backgrounds, and Mancuso hoped that these parties would help ease societal barriers. "The Loft" has been cited as one of the most influential parties of its era, and aspects of it were later replicated in notable nightclubs including Paradise Garage and Studio 54. Learn more about these important, layered histories here.
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635 Broadway
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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635 Broadway
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
Constructed from 1853-54 for Peter Goelet, Nos. 631, 633, and 635 Broadway were originally of a group of four buildings (No. 67 was later demolished). These store and loft buildings are each composed of four bays, standing at five stories tall, and their primary facades are of brick with marble facing. They are the oldest surviving purpose-built commercial buildings in the historic district, indicating that it was around the middle of the 19th century that this neighborhood began its dramatic transformation from a prestigious and genteel residential enclave to an increasingly gritty commercial and manufacturing hub.
Some of the businesses operating out of the buildings in the 19th century included W.J.F. Dailey & Co., which opened at No. 631 in 1859 and sold decorated porcelain, china, and other novelties; and Delluc & Co., a French pharmaceutical company that opened in 1860 at 635 Broadway. Around 1985, the three structures were combined internally and converted to an apartment complex, along with the adjacent building at 200-204 Mercer Street, also within the historic district.
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620 BROADWAY
Photograph by Village Preservation, June 2024
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620 BROADWAY
LPC Designation Photograph, June 1999
Built in 1858-59, this is the oldest surviving cast iron building within the NoHo Historic District. The Renaissance Revival style structure was designed by architect John B. Snook, with its cast iron facade manufactured by Daniel D Badger of the D.D. Badger Company, for millionaire landowner Henry Dolan. This section of Broadway was shifting from a primarily residential to commercial area at the time. Learn more here.
Click here to proceed to Part II of the NoHo Historic District 25th Anniversary Tour
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