We've seen listings through the years for rentals at the former Lodging House/Children's Aid Society on the corner of East Eighth Street and Avenue B.
Now, though, there's a listing for a two-floor home that hasn't been available for sale in nearly 40 years.
Let's go right to Urban Compass for the breathless details:
The last time anyone was able to make a claim on a space within Vaux and Bradford’s storied Lodging House was 1978. And prior to that, never.
So in the most literal way possible, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a living piece of Manhattan history. As it stands, the lower floor features a wonderfully proportioned South facing living area with wood-burning fireplace, 10 foot ceilings and a large wrought-iron enclosed Juliet balcony overlooking the recently restored St. Brigid’s church and Tompkins Square Park.
Within the Lodging House, Apartment 2–3E is located on the south, east and north sides of the 2nd and 3rd floors, light is guaranteed all day long. Once inside, look closer. It will be easy to find the original spirit of the building by stripping the existing sheetrock away to expose the wonderful Monk bond brickwork, and it’s thrilling to imagine the probability of 130 year old wooden ceiling joists and beams running lengthwise across the ceilings.
To the rear of the home is a large dining area and kitchen with a north facing window overlooking verdant-planted gardens and the stately Christodora House on East 9th Street. The upper floor of the duplex currently has three comfortable bedrooms and is replete with exposed brick, two large wood-burning fireplaces, arched windows and strip oak hardwood floors.
Price: $4 million.
No. 295 Avenue B was completed in 1887... It was known as Newsboys' and Bootblacks' Lodging House as well as Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys and Industrial School, Children's Aid Society.
This building was also once the East Side Hebrew Institute, abandoned by 1975.
ReplyDeletehttp://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=24UAYWOTPXZY&SMLS=1&RW=1361&RH=1006
I've lived my entire life in Stuy Town. Up to the 1970's this was a Jewish Day school, called the East Side Hebrew Institute (ESHI for short). The school merged with another one and moved elsewhere. If I am not mistaken there is an inscription on the building in Hebrew/Yiddish. I am surprised to see this building identified as the Children's Aid society.
ReplyDeleteA NY Times article in 1999 (if memory serves) had some history of the building and mentioned that it was founded as the Children's Aid Society. It was abandoned in 1973, I think, and taken over by the city and then acquired by someone in 1978 for $30k.
ReplyDeleteBill the libertarian anarchist
Some history of the building:
ReplyDeletehttp://gvshp.org/blog/2013/07/03/the-tompkins-square-lodging-house-for-boys/
Bill
Now THIS is worth that kind of scratch, and if I had won that Mega-Millions instead of the principle, you can bet your sweet bippy I would buy it. Have loved this building since I first moved to the EV; I remember when someone tried to pry the date plaque on the west side off in the late 1970s and succeeded only in breaking off one corner, which someone else did a beautiful job of restoring. So happy this lovely survivor is still with us.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly, is it haunted and how do I get a tour?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this is what people looking to spend $4 million on an apartment will buy. With the soon overstock of luxury apartments on the market I would think a new high rise on the Bowery would sell before a stripped of historical features loft like this one.
ReplyDeleteI had 4 friends who rented an apt. here in 1991-92. It was huge but certainly not updated like that. It was almost like a old loft space that someone added a "mezzanine" to and called it a duplex. The had to build a stairway to the half finished sleeping quarters. But it was an amazing space will a lot of old millwork and hidden stacks of old yiddish newspapers. Lotta good parties!
ReplyDeleteCheck out what you can get for 4 million in NYC. A minute or two on Corcoran and I spotted luxury apartments on CPW, West Chelsea etc... These apartments have state of the art kitchens and bathrooms, beautiful floors and views. This in comparison looks like a cleaned up 1970's loft. The price is not realistic to the market and is inflated solely because of the dreaded "hip neighborhood" tag. The seller would be lucky to get 2.5 million for this space.
ReplyDeleteAnd some more history of the building: http://gvshp.org/blog/2014/03/31/places-we-love-the-newsboys-home/
ReplyDeleteI spent four years of my life in that building, from age 9-13, as a student in the East Side Hebrew Institute. My family has five generations of life in the EV. I can tell you, not once, have I heard that building referred to as the "lodging house" or Childrens Aid or even the Newsboys(ies) House. It was either the Schul, ESHI or the building down the block from Charlie Parker's house. Since so few people have lived in the condo conversion, I can imagine that there are many more treasures to find. We students would carve out holes in the walls and drop things inside. Lots of well accomplished alumni from ESHI, too, as many of us went on the Stuyvesant HS. ESHI was more or less a factory for churning out Stuyvesant admissions and for encouraging creative and free thinking, thanks to principle Rabbi Raskin. Also worth mentioning all the muggings and robberies committed against us.
ReplyDeleteFrom 1910 the building was part of Congregation and Talmud Torah (after school program) Darchei Noam (the ways of pleasantness, referring to the Torah). ESHI (East Side Hebrew Institute) finally merged into Park East uptown by 1981 after having first moved to Irving Place. The words Darchei Noam can be seen on the main entrance.
ReplyDeleteIn the early 80s, I heard that this was an abandoned building taken over by homesteaders....
ReplyDeleteAll I have to do is find someone who will lend me 4 million bucks!
ReplyDeleteWas def. a homestead. Late 70s. Great bldg and apt. Lucky whoever has the $ to buy in. Love that bldg.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great building on a great site. I am glad it is highly valued and that I could never even think of buying into it because at least it is being preserved and I can walk by it every now and then.
ReplyDelete