396 West Broadway

also 398 West Broadway | SoHo | built 1910

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.

1819
Thomas Starr has a Federal-style house built at 396 West Broadway around 1819
The three-story building at 396 West Broadway began as a Federal house built around 1819-20 for Thomas Starr, when the Eighth Ward was a growing residential area. Its front wall was rebuilt when Laurens Street was widened in 1870, and the building later became a factory and stable. The first two stories were redone in the mid-twentieth century and stucco was added later.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1877
A druggist in 1877, then rag-and-paper dealers B. Tocci & Sons, occupy 398 West Broadway
In 1877 the storefront at 398 West Broadway was occupied by Walter D. Nowill, a druggist. The upper floors were converted from residential to commercial use in 1917, and B. Tocci & Sons, rag and paper dealers, were the occupants from then through at least 1941. In the 1970s and 80s the ground floor held a series of galleries and boutiques, and the fourth story was removed between 1940 and the 1960s.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1878
From piano factory to box factory to rag warehouse, 396 West Broadway serves industry for decades
A piano factory occupied 396 West Broadway by 1878, and by 1892 the premises had become a box factory. Between 1902 and 1941 the building stored rags and paper. Its upper floors were later converted to apartments and connected inside with the neighboring building at 398.
Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

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