103 2nd Avenue

also 239 East 6th Street | East Village | built 1868

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1868
Nicholas Soebbeler builds a piano factory at 103 Second Avenue
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In 1868 the corner building at 103 Second Avenue was erected as a piano factory for Nicholas Soebbeler, one of two major German industries, along with lager brewing, that briefly had a foothold in the neighborhood. The building seems to have held a showroom for the Soebbeler pianos until at least 1880. Alteration permits show that the upper stories were turned into apartments in 1876.
“103 Second Avenue was erected in 1868 as a piano factory for Nicholas Soebbeler. The building apparently contained a show room for the Soebbeler line until at least 1880…”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1922
The corner building gains a fifth story and new storefronts in 1922
A 1922 alteration, designed by F. W. Klemt for the owner (listed as N. Sorbeler), added a fifth story to the corner building at 103 Second Avenue and installed storefronts. The 1868 permit also covered a similar rear building at 239 East 6th Street. A corbelled brick cornice survives, though the window lintels were removed sometime between about 1939 and 1988.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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