138 Duane Street

also 140 Duane Street, 134 Duane Street | Tribeca | built 1860

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.

1859
Earlier on the site, a stable, boarding house and tenement stood where 136-140 Duane Street now rises
Before the present building, this part of Duane Street held a commercial stable, a house with a shop that sold needles and thread, a boarding house, and a tenement at the rear. The tenement was both the home and workplace of two African-American housepainters and their families. All of it was cleared for the five-story store of 1859-60.
“…replaced a commercial stable, a dwelling with a store dealing in needles and thread, a boarding house, and a rear tenement…”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1860
Three owners, one a Poughkeepsie merchant, build a 75-foot store at 136-140 Duane Street as two buildings
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The five-story building was put up in 1859-60 as two structures divided by a partition wall, for Theodore Beach, the dry goods merchant Martin E. Greene and Stephen Baker, a merchant from Poughkeepsie. It stretches seventy-five feet along Duane Street. Its cast-iron storefront was made by Nichol & Billerwell, whose foundry stood at 33 Hamersley Street.
“…constructed in 1859-60 as two buildings with a dividing partition wall for Theodore Beach, dry goods merchant Martin E . Greene, and Poughkeepsie merchant Stephen Baker…”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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