J. Lee Smith House

29 Bank Street | West Village | built 1840

Open on the map4 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1840

   William Harsell, a sash maker and former assemblyman, builds 29 Bank Street

   William Harsell, who made sash and window frames at 12 Wooster Street and served in the State Assembly in 1838, bought the land in 1835 and built this three-story Greek Revival house in 1840. The brick facade sits over a stone basement, with a low stoop leading to a recessed Greek Revival doorway.

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

2. 1845

   Fishmonger Robert N. Eldredge moves his growing family into 29 Bank Street

   Robert Niles Eldredge, who ran a fish business in the Washington Market, bought the house in 1845. He and his wife Melinna had four daughters then, a son was born weeks after the move, and eight more children followed. By 1857 the household reached 16 people, including Robert's brother and partner Nathan, and the house was sold in 1859.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1885

   The spiritualist Madame Diss Debar and her daughters board at 29 Bank Street

   Among the boarders of Catherine Hoff in 1885 were Joseph Diss Debar, Madame Diss Debar and her daughters Alice and Julia. Madame Diss Debar, a spiritualist, was lecturing, and fellow boarder Mrs. Randall nursed Alice through an illness. Alice told Mrs. Randall that her father was a portrait artist, though Joseph Diss Debar was not one, and the couple were not married.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1888

   April

   The Diss Debars are jailed and a court places their girls with the Gerry Society

   In April 1888 Joseph and Madame Diss Debar were imprisoned. At a hearing on April 29 her brother testified about the couple's living arrangements and said he doubted the younger girl, Julia, called Dodo, was her child. The court then moved Alice, 14, and Dodo, 8, into the custody of the Gerry Society, the city's child protection group.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The 1840 J. Lee Smith House - 29 Bank StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
• Then & Now photos: 29 Bank StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now

Nearby

• 31 Bank Street1 entry
• 27 Bank Street2 entries
• 25 Bank Street2 entries
• 33 Bank Street1 entry
• 23 Bank Street1 entry
• 37 Bank Street1 entry

All 1,156 buildings with stories in West Village