221 Thompson Street

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.

1919
Henry Birdsall builds an express stable at 221 Thompson Street
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In 1919 the owner Henry Birdsall built a two-story 'express stable' on Thompson Street, filed for the addresses 221 to 225, with H. L. Gillen as architect or builder. The new-building papers describe it as a stable, though it apparently functioned as a garage. The lot would later be extended and converted for motor vehicles.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1920
Owner wins a variance to turn the Thompson Street stable into a motor garage and adds a store
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In 1920 Henry Birdsall altered the stable at 221 Thompson Street under plans by J. M. Felson, adding a store and extending the building 40 feet north to take in 227-229. Because the lot lay in a business district, a motor garage there was unlawful without a variance from the Board of Appeals, which he received. The four-story tower on the facade probably dates to an elevator installed in 1921.
“…received a variance from the Board of Appeals to convert the stable to a garage for motor vehicles, which otherwise would have been unlawful in a business district.”
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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