NoHo East Historic District

The gentle curve of Bleecker Street and the closed vistas of Elizabeth and Mott Streets give this area a distinctive, close-knit, charming quality. The development of the area occurred in slow waves, allowing many early buildings to survive and retain their unique characteristics, even as specific building use changed.

Clusters of Federal-style row houses remain from early nineteenth century residential development. The area lost its fashionable reputation by the Civil War, and became a densely populated neighborhood of northern and eastern European immigrants. In order to meet the need for housing in the area, many of the existing Federal row houses were sub-divided into apartments and boarding houses. Several Italianate and neo-Grec row houses and tenements were constructed during this time, reflecting the popular styles of the period, and cast-iron window lintels, incised stone ornament, and bracketed cornices are still visible today. In addition to the influx of immigrants into the neighborhood, commercial development started to encroach on all sides and by the end of the nineteenth century, store-and-loft buildings were widely constructed and the area became the center of the fur trade, as well as home to the textile and printing industries.

After World War II, young artists converted these lofts into studios and galleries; since the 1970s, as a result of gentrification, many of these commercial buildings have been converted to residential use, resulting in a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. ©2014