Preserving Federal Era Row Houses


13 Federal Row Houses Latest News

Thank the LPC for landmarking seven of thirteen Federal houses, and urge them to keep going		Downtown Express 06/26/09 New York Times 03/21/04		Report: The Federal Era Row House of Lower Manhattan
Elected officials’ letter of support

GVSHP, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Endangered Building Initiative (EBI) have called upon the city to protect thirteen outstanding federal era rowhouses in Lower Manhattan by designating them as landmarks. Federal row houses were built between the 1790s and the early 1830s, and embodied a newly created “American” architectural style, meant to visually reflect the identity of the young, emerging independent democracy.

Remarkably, about 300 of these houses survive in Lower Manhattan, some in pristine condition, some altered almost beyond recognition. And while many are protected by individual landmark designation or as part of historic districts, more than half of the houses have no protection at all, and these unique historic structures could be lost at any time.

In the late 1990s, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation began the process of documenting all of these incredible survivors, with an eye toward seeing them designated and preserved (this initial study was funded by Preserve New York, a grant program of the Preservation League of New York State and the New York State Council on the Arts). The study was continued and its work greatly expanded by historian Susan DeVries. While a few of these structures have been designated landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, most remain unprotected.