398 West Street
West Village | built 1900
Open on the map4 entries
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.
- 1831
Flour merchant Isaac Amerman builds a Federal rowhouse on the Hudson waterfront
Read more
Isaac Amerman, a flour merchant, built this 3-1/2-story Federal house in 1830-31, more than 22 feet wide, and ran his business here in 1831-32. Foreclosure moved it to others, and in 1832 it was sold to paint dealers William and Gerardus Post, among the wealthiest men in the city. Linen merchant James Dean bought it in 1840, and the estate of his wife Elizabeth held it until 1956.
- 1910
A liquor dealer who worked here is convicted of murdering a Yiddish actress
Herman Klatzko, a Russian-born liquor dealer, had his business at 398 West Street in 1903-04. In 1910 he was convicted of killing a Yiddish theater actress he was infatuated with, along with a fellow actor he was jealous of. The Landmarks Commission recounts the case in its history of the building.
“Herman Klatzko, a Russian-born liquors dealer whose business was located here in 1903-04, was convicted in 1910 of the murder of a Yiddish theater actress…”
- 1963
Columbia editor Erik Wensberg lives here and fights the Crosstown Expressway
Erik Wensberg lived at 398 West Street from about 1963 to 1970. He edited Columbia University's alumni publication, the Columbia Alumni News and Columbia University Forum, from 1955 to 1975, and he reviewed books for the New York Times. He was also an opponent of the Lower Manhattan Crosstown Expressway.
“Erik Wensberg, who lived at No. 398 West Street c. 1963-70, was the editor of Columbia University's Columbia Alumni News/ Columbia University Forum (1955-75)…”
- 1968
Cuban-American director Rene Buch, a resident here, founds the Greenwich Mews Spanish Theater
Rene Buch, a Cuban-American who lived here from about 1965, founded the Greenwich Mews Spanish Theater in 1968 and became its artistic director. It later became Repertorio Espanol. He had a master's degree in playwriting from Yale (1952) and had headed Spanish creative copy at J. Walter Thompson. His honors include an Obie for sustained excellence in direction and a Drama Desk Award in 1996.
“…founder (1968) and artistic director of the Greenwich Mews Spanish Theater (later Repertorio Espanol)…”
Nearby
- Holland Hotel396 West Street | 4 entries
- 304 West 10th Street5 entries
- 3 Weehawken Street1 entry
- 395 West Street3 entries
- 5 Weehawken Street2 entries
- Jacob P. Roome House7 Weehawken Street | 5 entries