250 Lafayette Street
also 89 Crosby Street | SoHo | built 1866
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.
- 1866
Catherine Bradley has a private house built at 250 Lafayette Street, with a garden out front
Around 1865 to 1866 a brick house was built here for Catherine Bradley, when the fringe of SoHo was still popular for living even as commerce spread north from the south. A rental advertisement in 1872 described a comfortable three-story brick house with a basement and a large front garden. By 1897 the property had been converted to lofts.
“A rental advertisement from 1872 listed this property as a comfortable three-story-and-basement brick house with a large front garden.”
- 1880
An 1880 redesign joins a Crosby Street factory to 250 Lafayette and brings in a furniture maker
The neighboring building at 89 Crosby Street, which seems to date from about 1827 to 1828 when it was built for John McChain, was remade in 1880 to designs by the architect Alfred B. Ogden for Bradley & Co. At that time it was linked inside to 250 Lafayette Street. Later tenants included a furniture factory in 1880, a wool warehouse in 1922, the Speyer Animal Hospital in 1947 and the Caterers Equipment Corp. from 1968 to 1978.
“…completely redesigned in 1880 by architect Alfred B. Ogden for owner Bradley & Co. ... the building was joined internally with 250 Lafayette Street.”
- 1897
D. N. B. Sturgis gives 250 Lafayette Street a Romanesque Revival front during the street widening
The widening of Lafayette Street in 1897 forced a major alteration here. Architect D. N. B. Sturgis designed a new Romanesque Revival facade for the owner, the Bradley Estate. Its inset windows, segmental lintels and corbelled cornice mark the style, and the upper floors remain largely intact, though the first two stories have since been altered.
“The new Romanesque Revival facade that was installed in 1897 was designed by architect D.N.B Sturgis; the owner was the Bradley Estate.”
- 2004
The T. F. Chen Cultural Center occupies 250 Lafayette Street from 2004 to 2010
After decades of industrial and commercial tenants, the building turned to art at the end of the twentieth century. The New World Art Center was listed here in 1997, and the T. F. Chen Cultural Center followed from 2004 to 2010. Earlier tenants had included D. Michael & Co., dealers in woolen rags, in 1930, and the Speyer Animal Hospital in 1947.
“…the New World Art Center (1997); and the T.F. Chen Cultural Center (2004-2010).”
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