8 Morton Street

West Village | built 1833

Open on the map5 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1833

    Peter Hegeman builds a Federal-style frame house at 8 Morton Street

    Peter Hegeman had No. 8 Morton Street built in 1833 as a two-and-a-half-story wood house with a peaked roof. An 1871 renovation raised it to a full third story with a flat roof and metal cornice, and it later served as a four-family tenement. A restaurant occupied the lower floors from 1930 to 1942, and in 1999 the ground story was restored to its early look.

    “Tax assessment records indicate that no. 8 Morton Street was constructed in 1833 for Peter Hegeman…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1860

    A small school at 8 Morton Street trains girls to sew vests on Singer machines

    By 1860 a tenant at 8 Morton Street was running a small private industrial school to prepare girls for factory work. That year an advertisement asked for girls to learn vest making and to operate Singer's sewing machine, promising moderate terms and thorough instruction. Applicants were told to apply at the house.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1869

    Bachelor judge Anthony Lispenard Robertson buys 8 Morton Street and adds a floor

    Anthony Lispenard Robertson, a wealthy lifelong bachelor and attorney, bought the house in 1869. He had been Assistant Vice-Chancellor of New York State since 1846 and a chief justice of the Superior Court from 1860. In July 1871 architect George Forrester filed plans to add a story, which replaced the peaked roof and dormer and made room for four families.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1894

    February 8

    A basement widow and her sister get relief food during the 1893 depression

    During the Panic of 1893, Sarah Smalls, a widow with one child, shared a basement at 8 Morton Street with her sister, whose husband had deserted her and their six children; washing and scrubbing work had become hard to find. In February 1894 Smalls carried home a bag of food from the Evening World's Free Food Commission at 90 Murray Street, which required a clergyman's note vouching for each applicant.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 1899

    March 19

    A Morton Street lodger sells candles at the Staten Island ferry to protest dark boats

    William J. Madden, who rented rooms at 8 Morton Street in 1899, was annoyed that he could not read a paper on a dark Staten Island ferry. On the evening of March 19 he stood at the terminal selling wax candles for a penny each as reading lights. The ferry company had him arrested. A magistrate lectured him about the Sunday law and let him go.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

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