165 John Street
also 89 South Street | Financial District | built 1980
Open on the map4 entries
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.
- 1812
George Codwise Jr. builds a row of six on Burling Slip, and No. 165 is the one left
Codwise, a former owner of land along Burling Slip's north side, built six houses together in 1811, just as Peter Schermerhorn's row was getting under way on Fulton Street. No. 165 stood at the western end and was first occupied in 1812 by Merrit & Corlies, flour merchants. It is the only building of Codwise's row still standing.
“No. 165 is the only extant building of the Codwise row.”
- 1835
A commission-merchant firm remakes the building to match its new neighbor at 181 Front
In 1835 the commission merchants Mackie, Oakley & Jennison, who were then putting up 181 Front Street next door and occupied No. 165, altered it to look like their new building. The work gave it a granite ground floor with a pier shared with the neighbor, realigned windows and a fresh brick facade.
- 1839
A grocer buys the building and its new neighbor, then gets leave to add a floor
In 1839 Edward G. Faile, a grocer, bought No. 165 along with 181 Front Street and signed a party-wall agreement with George Codwise's widow, Mary, that let him raise No. 165 to five stories. The change was slow to appear, though: an 1847 print and the 1870 Perris-Browne atlas both still show four stories.
“In 1839 Edward G. Faile, a grocer, bought this building and 181 Front Street…”
- 1968
165 John Street, assessed at a high $5,000 when new, becomes a city landmark
When the building went up in 1811, the east end of John Street was still Burling Slip, and the property was assessed to George Codwise at $5,000, which the Historic Districts Council calls rather high. The slip was filled in 1835, which is why John Street is so wide near here. The city designated the building a landmark on October 29, 1968.
Source: hdc.org
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