Daniel H. Carpenter House

39 Bethune Street | West Village | built 1899

Open on the map5 entries

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

1. 1846

   A Greek Revival house goes up at 39 Bethune Street, a near twin of its neighbor at No. 41

   The three-story brick house at 39 Bethune Street was built in 1846. The Landmarks Preservation Commission notes that it follows the design of the older house next door at No. 41 very closely, down to the pilastered doorframe with transom and the wood cornice. The two stand side by side as a matched pair in the Greenwich Village Historic District.

   “Although this Greek Revival residence was built in 1846, it nevertheless adheres remarkably closely to the design of the earlier house which adjoins it, No. 41.”

   Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

2. 1853

   September 29

   Fire hits a picture-frame workshop behind 39 Bethune Street

   At the end of the day on September 29, 1853, workmen found a fire in the rear shop of picture-frame maker John Sigler, behind the house. Several fire companies put it out before it did much damage, and Sigler's stock loss was put at $360. Soon afterward Daniel Hoagland Carpenter took over the property and set up a lumber business with a steam mill in the rear building.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1854

   Lumber dealer Daniel Carpenter's complaint brings a raid on a Sunday saloon nearby

   Daniel H. Carpenter ran a lumber business and steam mill in the rear factory building and lived at No. 39 with his wife Hester and eventually five children; he was active in neighborhood affairs. He had little patience for saloons that served drink on Sundays. After his complaint in the summer of 1854, police raided the bar of Isaac B. Smith, and all nine people present, including the bartender, were fined $2.50 apiece.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1912

   December 21

   Silk-company paymasters are ambushed with blackjacks on Bethune Street

   The house served as the office of a silk-finishing company whose factory stood beside it. On the Saturday morning of December 21, 1912, paymaster Charles Weber and his assistant Edmund Wyder were heading back from a Ninth Avenue bank with a payroll of $1,194. Two men loitering on the sidewalk beat them with blackjacks while two touring cars waited at either end of the block, and the robbers drove off with the money.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

5. 1926

   Showcase makers C. F. Biele & Sons move into 33-39 Bethune Street

   In 1926 the firm of Charles F. Biele & Sons, founded in 1867, moved here from West 12th Street. It built display cases and vitrines for department stores, museums and collectors. The New York Sun reported in 1938 that its clients had included the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library and Theodore Roosevelt. The firm kept using the little brick house as its office until it dissolved in 1943.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The Daniel Hoagland Carpenter House - 39 Bethune StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
• Then & Now photos: 39 Bethune StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now

Nearby

• Albert J. Hopper House41 Bethune Street | 5 entries
• 35 Bethune Street2 entries
• William Dunning House749 Washington Street | 3 entries
• 123 Bank Street1 entry
• 31 Bethune Street1 entry
• George Van Zile House29 Bethune Street | 3 entries

All 1,156 buildings with stories in West Village