Howells & Stokes, 1898-99; addition: DeLemos & Cordes, 1904;
197 East Broadway Brunner & Tyron, 1889-91;
Henry Street Settlement: 301 Henry Street, DeYoung, Moscowitz & Rosenberg, 1962;
263 and 265 Henry Street, 1827;
267 Henry Street, 1834, new façade: Buchman & Fox, 1910;
Engine Company No. 15, 269 Henry Street, Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, 1884;
281 East Broadway, 1829|

The Settlement House movement began in the 1880’s in response to worldwide urban poverty sparked by industrialization and immigration. Settlement houses provided education, recreation, medical services and social welfare programs to residents of city slums. The Neighborhood Guild, founded in 1886 as America’s first settlement house, brought male university graduates to the Lower East Side to help and inspire the poor. The Guild changed its name to University Settlement in 1891. Founded by Jewish philanthropists, the Downtown Hebrew Institute was founded in 1889 to transform new Jewish immigrants into assimilated members of their new society. Its name was changed to the Educational Alliance in 1893. Many settlement houses were staffed by educated women, including the Henry Street Settlement, which was founded in 1893 by advocate Lillian D. Wald and funded by Mrs. Solomon Loeb and her son-in-law, banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff. All three of these settlement houses are still in operation today. In 2007, Henry Street Settlement acquired Engine Company No. 15, one of many firehouses designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons and commissioned by the City between 1878 and 1894. The site has a storied past, as it was previously home to a brownstone dwelling converted in 1854 into the Americus Engine Company No. 6, or the “Big Six”, which William M. “Boss” Tweed organized and used as a vehicle for his infamous political exploits. Each of the Henry Street Settlement address are New York City Individual Landmarks. 263 and 265 Henry Street and 267 Henry Street  are both listedon the State and National Register of Historic Places.

7-13 Bialystoker Place, 1826 – NYCIL & Nat’l Reg Property;
290 Henry Street, contributed to John Heath, 1827-29 – NYCIL & Nat’l Reg Property|

These two churches, located a few blocks apart, are two of the four surviving fieldstone religious structures built in the late Federal era in lower Manhattan. Their fieldstone was quarried from Mount Pitt, a hill that once stood at the present corner of Pitt and Grand Streets. Their simple exteriors give way to ornate and fascinating interiors. Bialystoker Synagogue, originally the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church, has a richly hued interior with statuary and paintings. A concealed corridor discovered during renovations in the 1990’s led to speculation that the building was a safe house on the Underground Railroad. St. Augustine’s, originally the All Saints’ Free Church, houses the old High Altar from Trinity Church, the Lady Altar from St. Augustine’s Chapel on East Houston, the pulpit from the demolished St. John’s Chapel in Hudson Square, and enclosures around the organ that were once designated seating for black parishioners. Both churches are New York City Individual Landmarks and listed on the State and Nation Register of Historic Places.

c. 1837|

These Greek Revival rowhouses are rare survivors of their period of construction in the early 19th century, and stand as reminders of the time before large numbers of immigrants began settling into the Lower East Side. Each house was built for a single wealthy family, as evidenced by the fancy ironwork on number 247.

173-175 East Broadway, George A. Boehm, 1912|

Located on a stretch of East Broadway once known as “Yiddish newspaper row”, this was the headquarters for Vorwärtz, or the Jewish Daily Forward, the most widely read Yiddish newspaper in the United States. First published in 1897, it was immensely influential on the Jewish community for its support of socialist causes and for its articles offering advice on everyday struggles, making the most of America’s opportunities and encouraging children’s education. The terra cotta-clad building features medallions with faces of socialist heroes Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Karl Liebknecht and Ferdinand Lassalle above the entry, Vorwärtz in Yiddish at the building’s crown, and a clock at the parapet. The paper moved uptown in 1974 and the building was converted to condominiums in the 1990’s. The Forward Building is a New York City Individual Landmark.

Canal Street to Hester Street, between Essex and Jefferson Streets established 1899;
Straus Square, intersection of East Broadway, Essex, Canal and Rutgers Streets|

In the late 1890’s, the Outdoor Recreation League lobbied the City to clear several blocks for Seward Park, which opened in 1899. The park was named for politician William H. Seward, a strong supporter of immigrants, who in turn supported his successful campaigns for State Senate, Governor and U.S. Senate. The City took over management of the park in 1903 and created a permanent municipal playground, the nation’s first. The park also featured a children’s farm garden and a public bathhouse, which was replaced in 1941 with a recreation building. Straus Square was originally named for patriot Henry Rutgers, whose hundred-acre farm was nearby. Both Henry and Rutgers Streets and Rutgers University are also named for him. The square was a political epicenter, regularly hosting rallies and demonstrations. In 1931, the square was renamed for German Jewish philanthropist and advocate Nathan Straus, whose family owned Macy’s and Abraham & Straus department stores.

31 Canal Street;
Thomas W. Lamb, 1926-27|

This movie house was designed in the Spanish baroque style and originally held 2,270 seats, offering a welcome distraction and escape from daily life in the tenements until it closed in the 1960s. The glazed white terra cotta façade, dominated by three arched faux windows in the center, is graced with rich Classical ornament in the form of wreaths, urns, griffins and foliage. The Former Loew’s Canal Street Theatre is a New York City Individual Landmark.