Houses at 208–218 East 78th Street facts for kids
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Houses at 208–218 East 78th Street
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North elevation, 2008.
208–218 East 78th Street are numbered from right to left. |
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 Location in New York City
Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | New York, NY |
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| Built | 1861–65 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 83001732 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 1983 |
The houses at 208–218 East 78th Street are a special group of six brick rowhouses in Manhattan, New York City. They were built a long time ago, between 1861 and 1865. You can find them on the south side of East 78th Street, between Second and Third Avenues.
These houses are important because they are some of the oldest buildings in the Upper East Side area. They were part of a larger group of 15 houses built to be affordable homes when this part of the city was just starting to grow. What makes them stand out are their unique round-arched windows and doors. This style is called Italianate architecture, which was popular back then.
In 1978, these houses were named New York City Designated Landmarks. Later, in 1983, they were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are protected because of their history and special design.
Contents
Exploring the Houses at East 78th Street
These six houses are located on the south side of East 78th Street. This street is lined with trees and other similar, but taller, rowhouses. The area is mostly residential, meaning people live there. It's near a neighborhood called Yorkville.
What Do the Houses Look Like?
Each house is three stories tall. They are quite narrow, only about 13 feet (4 meters) wide. They also have a raised basement. The front of each house has special stone carvings around the windows and doors. These carvings are shaped like arches.
The main entrance and the window next to it on the first floor have extra stone decorations. The windows on the upper floors have small stone supports underneath them. The roofs are flat, and they have decorative edges with vertical supports. Stone steps with iron railings lead from the sidewalk up to the front doors. All the front doors are on the right side of each house.
Changes Over Time
Most of the houses still look very much like they did when they were first built. However, a few small changes have been made. For example, the house at number 214 now has window shutters. Also, some of the original iron railings at numbers 214 and 216 have been replaced. At number 218, the original stone steps were changed to modern concrete ones.
History of the East 78th Street Houses
The story of these houses begins in the 1850s. In 1852, a new train line called the Third Avenue Railway was built. This made it easier for people living in Yorkville (which was a small village back then) to travel to jobs in Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
Building New Homes in Yorkville
Even with the new train, the area around East 78th Street was still mostly empty in 1861. That's when a man named Howard Martin bought a large piece of land there. He planned to build houses to sell, hoping people would want to move to this growing area.
Martin divided the land into 15 smaller pieces, or lots. These lots were numbered 206 through 234 East 78th Street. He started building, but in 1862, he sold the properties to William Brower. Brower kept the same builders, Warren and Ransom Beman and John Buckley. This is probably why all the houses ended up looking so similar.
Challenges During Construction
Building the houses took a bit longer than expected. This was because it was hard to get building materials during the American Civil War, which was happening at the time. But by 1865, all the houses were finished. William Brower had sold them all by then.
Over the years, some of the original 15 houses were torn down. For example, number 206 and houses from 220 to 234 were removed to make space for taller apartment buildings nearby. But the six houses we see today (208–218) have remained private homes and still look very much like they did when they were first built.
See also
In Spanish: Viviendas del 208-218 de East 78th Street para niños
