276 Bowery

Nolita | built 1900

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1862

    February 1

    A fire destroys the original buildings on William B. Astor's Bowery lot at Houston Street

    The corner at 276 Bowery belonged to William B. Astor, and the buildings first standing on it burned on February 1, 1862. The Bowery Historic District nomination cites the New York Times of February 2, 1862 for the fire. Astor replaced them in 1884 with the present loft and lodging building.

    “Owned by Wm B Astor; original buildings burned Feb 1, 1862 (NYT Feb 2, 1862)…”

    Source: National Register nomination

  2. 1884

    Architect Halsey DeBand builds a setback Renaissance Revival loft and lodging house for Astor

    Halsey C. DeBand designed the four-story orange-brick building in 1884 for William Astor, with brownstone pilasters and balcony-style iron fire escapes. He designed Astor's tenement at 260-268 Elizabeth Street the same year, and the two buildings back onto each other. The nomination notes the building is set back from the street, with only the shops reaching the sidewalk line, and suggests Astor's objection to the new elevated railway may explain it.

    “Architect De Band also designed Astor's tenement building 260-268 Elizabeth Street the same year (1884), which abuts this building to the rear.”

    Source: National Register nomination

  3. 1922

    The building becomes part of the Uncle Sam Hotel, a Bowery lodging house run by the Lyons Hotel Co.

    After 1922 the building was part of the Uncle Sam Hotel, which took in 276 through 284 Bowery and was operated by the Lyons Hotel Co. The Bowery Historic District nomination records this later use, which followed the building's years as a loft and lodging house.

    “Post-1922: Uncle Sam Hotel, 276-284 Bowery (Lyons Hotel Co.)…”

    Source: National Register nomination

Further reading

Nearby

All 41 buildings with stories in Nolita