109 Thompson Street

SoHo | built 1878

Open on the map3 entries

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

1. 1878

   Julius Boekell designs a five-story neo-Grec tenement with a shop at 109 Thompson for Thomas Halstead

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   Boekell designed this brick tenement in 1878 for owner Thomas Halstead. Its upper stories carry pressed-metal lintels in the neo-Grec style, while the ground floor kept a wooden storefront with projecting bays and flanking cast-iron piers. The residential door in the center bay sits between fluted Corinthian cast-iron piers and is framed by wooden rope molding.

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

2. 1878

   Julius Boekell, a prolific tenement architect born in Hesse, builds 109 Thompson

   Julius Boekell was born in Hesse in 1831 and came to New York in 1851, setting up his own architectural practice by 1859. He served on active duty as a first lieutenant with the 11th New York Regiment between November 1861 and March 1862. He went on to design more than 150 tenements, working mainly for German clients and most often on the Lower East Side. His only building in the Sullivan-Thompson district is 109 Thompson.

   “Julius Boekell [Sr.] was an extremely prolific architect who designed over 150 tenement buildings.”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

3. 1905

   A 1905 alteration cuts small windows into 109 Thompson's facade to add a water closet on every floor

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   Nearly three decades after it went up, the 1878 tenement was altered under an 1905 building permit. The work opened small windows in the center of the facade, which let toilets be installed on each floor. The wooden storefront with its projecting bays still survives.

   “The small central windows are from a 1905 alteration, which allowed for the addition of water closets on each floor.”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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• 111 Thompson Street1 entry
• 107 Thompson Street1 entry
• 113 Thompson Street5 entries
• 105 Thompson Street2 entries
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