John Barrymore's rooftop studio house

132 West 4th Street | Greenwich Village | built 1839

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1917

    Josephine Wright Chapman converts 132 West 4th Street into five studio apartments

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    In 1917 Julia Nichols hired the architect Josephine Wright Chapman to turn this 1839 Greek Revival row house into five studio apartments. The next year Chapman added a roof-top garden and shelter for the fourth-story apartment. Alexander Masterson and Robert Smith were the house's original owners in 1839.

    “Josephine Wright Chapman was hired by Julia Nichols to convert the building into five studio apartments (ALT 690-1917)…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1917

    John Barrymore moves into the penthouse and builds a roof garden with a cottage and cedar trees

    The actor John Barrymore moved into the top-floor apartment of 132 West 4th Street in 1917, according to Village Preservation, and laid out a rooftop garden holding a cottage and a reflecting pool, with slate paving and several cedar trees. More than 35 tons of soil were hauled up for it, and the weight is said to have damaged the roof. Inside he made a Gothic retreat he called the Alchemist's Corner, with gold wallpaper, fake wooden beams and stained glass. The landmarks report instead dates his tenancy from 1918.

    Source: Village Preservation

  3. 1947

    The Village Jewish Group buys the house for a community center

    In 1947 the Village Jewish Group purchased 132 West 4th Street and converted its basement and first floor into a community center. The district report says the house otherwise stayed residential, and the city alteration permit for the work is dated 1947.

    “…the Village Jewish Group purchased the property in 1947, converting the basement and first story into a community center.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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