John W. T. Nichols House

42 West 11th Street | Greenwich Village | built 1841

Open on the map4 entries

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

1. 1841

   Builders complete a row of Greek Revival houses including No. 42

   In 1840 mason James Harriot, carpenter Erastus Freeman, and builder Andrew Lockwood begin 11 brick-faced houses along West 11th Street's south side between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The row is finished in 1841, and No. 42 is one of its two-and-a-half-story homes with recessed doorways and a brownstone basement.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1897

   Cotton merchant John W. T. Nichols buys the house

   John W. T. Nichols, a partner in the cotton goods commission house Minot, Hooper & Co., buys 42 West 11th Street in early 1897. Because of his poor eyesight since youth, he backs the development of a switchboard run by bells instead of lights, and he sets up a women's restroom at his firm's Leonard Street building, one of the first in a large commercial building.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1907

   Nichols buys two Fifth Avenue houses to protect the neighborhood's residential character

   When the houses at 44 and 46 Fifth Avenue come up for sale in spring 1907, Nichols buys them, and the Record & Guide reports he did so to help keep lower Fifth Avenue residential. He later combines 42 West 11th Street with No. 44 into one home, which by 1915 has never had gas and is lit by candles for a Neighborhood Club gathering.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1988

   A restoration returns the house to its 1841 appearance

   In 1946 the combined houses at 42 and 44 West 11th Street are converted to a two-family residence. The two are separated again in 1988, when a restoration of the lost stoop and entrance brings No. 42 back to its 1841 look.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The John W. T. Nichols House - 42 West 11th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
• Then & Now photos: 42 West 11th StreetVillage Preservation: Greenwich Village Then & Now

Nearby

• Julien Tappan Davies House38 West 11th Street | 3 entries
• Isabella Merritt Hawley House48 West 11th Street | 5 entries
• John Williams Morgan House39 West 11th Street | 5 entries
• 54 West 11th Street4 entries
• John A. Duff House33 West 10th Street | 3 entries
• 35 West 10th Street3 entries

All 518 buildings with stories in Greenwich Village