NoHo’s Beginnings as an Exclusive Residential Neighborhood

The area which makes up present day NoHo began to urbanize between the 1820s and 1840s, as Greek Revival and Federal style houses built for many of Manhattan’s most successful businesspeople began to emerge here. These homes, which lined the streets around Broadway between Houston Street and Astor Place, like Bond and Great Jones Streets, soon became some of Manhattan’s most sought-after addresses. Although by the middle of the 19th century the neighborhood had begun to transform into an increasingly gritty commercial hub, several of these original residential structures remain, and were designated as part of the NoHo Historic District in June, 1999. In honor of the district’s 25th Anniversary, we created a virtual tour highlighting 25 of the nearly 130 buildings in the district. These buildings have a range of construction dates, spanning from the 1820s to the 1910s, and represent different phases of neighborhood development. Today we will explore some of the buildings which constitute the first phase of neighborhood development, when Federal and Greek Revival homes were constructed on what were some of the most desirable addresses in New York at the time.

58 Bleecker Street, the James Roosevelt House

Constructed between 1822 and 1823, 58 Bleecker Street is the earliest extant house in the district. This 3 1/2 story Federal Style home 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. In 1857, as the neighborhood’s prestige as an exclusive residential address began to fade, the building was converted to an infirmary for women and children by Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States. In 2018, Village Preservation installed a plaque on the building marking its significance as Blackwell’s hospital.

By the early 20th century, the upper floors of the house were being used as manufacturing lofts, while the ground level had a storefront occupied by a restaurant. The upper floors have since returned to residential use.

2 Bond Street

Originally constructed as a three story residence for David S. Jones in 1828-1829, the building was raised from three to four stories in 1863-64, and by the end of the century the building’s upper floors had been converted to manufacturing use, serving as a shirtwaist and skirt cutting factory (what is now NoHo was in the late 19th and early 20th century New York’s garment manufacturing center, before they moved to the west 30s in the 1920s).

The building’s lower floors were later given to commercial use, with large show windows added at the basement first and second story. These still remain extant today, and the building contains a mixture of uses, housing stores, offices and residences.

428-432 Lafayette Street, Colonnade Row

Colonnade Row is a series of marble-faced Greek Revival homes designed in the early 1830s by Seth Greer. The original row included nine Greek Revival style buildings (four of which remain), featuring a Corinthian colonnade that was built to resemble and honor the estate of American Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette.

Following completion, the row became home to some of New York’s most elite residents. After the Civil War, however, as the neighborhood became a quarter for both immigrants and manufacturing, the buildings were divided into apartments and commercial spaces, and in 1901 five of the nine homes were demolished.

Click here to explore more residential buildings in NoHo and to learn more about the other phases of the NoHo Historic District’s development.