173-177 Bleecker Street/206 Sullivan Street
These four handsome five story red brick tenements were built in 1887. The design is typical of the era and the neighborhood, and shows the precise features common among Victorian-era tenements in the South Village, with the only major alteration being the addition of fire escapes in 1939 (note the streamlined, rounded moderne design, betraying their later date). Historic records indicate the buildings were built by, and largely housed, Italian-Americans. The buildings were typical old law “dumbbell” tenements, with very small indentations in the center to allow a minimum of light and air into some interior rooms. Later changes to New York City housing law (in 1901) required more light and air and a window in every room (“new law” tenements).
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