21 Bethune Street

also 23 Bethune Street | West Village | built 1939

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.

1837
Builders put up 21 and 23 Bethune Street as part of a Greek Revival row, later raised to three full stories
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Nos. 19-29 Bethune Street were built in 1836-37 as speculative houses by Henry S. Forman and Alexander Douglass, builders on Morton Street, the carpenter William Goudey, and the builder Isaac S. Spencer. No. 23 went up in 1836 together with No. 25, while No. 21 followed in 1837 as a companion to No. 19. Both were later raised to three full stories, and their original entrances were replaced by basement doors.
“They were built in 1836-37 for speculative purposes by a number of men associated with the building trades…”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1932
Ben Shahn moves into 23 Bethune Street, where Walker Evans works below and Moses Soyer lives above
Around 1932 the painter Ben Shahn, his wife Tillie Goldstein and their daughter Judith left Brooklyn Heights for an apartment at 23 Bethune Street. Walker Evans, Lou Block and Jay Leyda took turns using the workshop at street level, while Moses Soyer had the flat upstairs. The Shahns had relocated to West Eleventh Street by November 1934.
Source: Village Preservation

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