323 Canal Street

SoHo | built 1821

Open on the map4 entries

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

1. 1821

   Isaac Lawrence builds a row of Federal houses on Canal Street, including 323, with Samuel Morse next door

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   The canal that gave the street its name was covered over in 1819, leaving an unusually wide street, and in 1821 Isaac Lawrence put up a row of brick Federal houses on the block between Mercer and Greene Streets. No. 323 was then numbered 22 and rose three and a half stories with a front of three bays. On May 1, 1825 the painter Samuel F. B. Morse moved into the house next door, then No. 20, paying $400 a year and setting up his studio there.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1861

   James Parrish moves his made-to-measure shirt factory and store into 323 Canal Street

   By 1861 James Parrish had bought the building, then newly renumbered 323, and moved in his menswear factory and store. Through the Civil War years he made custom dress shirts to measure for well-off customers, advertising in The Merchants and Bankers' Almanac for 1863. Around 1867 he relocated to No. 359 Canal Street but kept the building, renting the shop and upper lofts to small businesses.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1869

   March 15

   A 16-year-old messenger is arrested after $75 vanishes from a lace store at 323 Canal Street

   In March 1869 David Lisner of Geo. Lisner & Bro., a lace and fancy goods store at 323 Canal Street, had his 16-year-old messenger William Finnegan arrested on suspicion of taking $75 from the store safe. According to the New York Herald of March 20, Finnegan strongly denied it, and Justice Dowling gave him the chance to prove his good character. The firm was already trying to sell its lease and stock, and soon closed.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 2013

   July

   The brick fronts of 321 and 323 Canal Street are taken down and rebuilt with their original bricks

   In 2013 the brick facades of Nos. 321 and 323 were judged unstable, and owner United American Land filed for emergency deconstruction of the front and back walls. The Landmarks Preservation Commission allowed the nearly two-century-old bricks to be stored and reused. Page Ayres Cowley Architects extended the buildings to the rear and added ground-floor shops and apartments above, a project that took two years to get approved.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

• Isaac Lawrence row house321 Canal Street | 3 entries
• Dyer House325 Canal Street | 4 entries
• 319 REAR-A Canal Street1 entry
• Michael Quinn House327 Canal Street | 4 entries
• 319 Canal Street1 entry
• 329 Canal Street1 entry

All 736 buildings with stories in SoHo