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| 17 Grove Street |
It was a misty, foggy morning. I headed off to look around the Village a bit. I haven't been paying much attention to it lately.
I checked out the rowhouses at 4 - 10 Grove Street. There is a plaque that tells their beginnings in 1825 - 1834. They range form 18 to 21 feet wide and were built for moderate income families on land long owned by Trinity Church. The Church was apparently a big time landlord. Around 1896 the Department of Buildings and the Board of Health started investigating some of the properties owned by the Church. It was thought that some properties “are unhealthful and that the death rate in them is high". These rowhouses passed inspection when it came their turn but Trinity started selling off some of its properties after all the hoopla. (Trinity Church has owned land in Manhattan since 1696 although this tract of land was acquired later...probably in 1714.)
Today some of the houses could use a little TLC but it's nice to see they are still standing.
I walked along to 17 Grove Street. It's unusual because it's one of the few wooden frame buildings to be found in Manhattan. Fire codes updated in 1866 prohibited the building of new wooden buildings. But 17 Grove Street was built in 1822 as a 2 story home. The third story was added in 1870.
It was used for many residence and commercial activities over the years but purchased in 1987 and renovated into a single family home again.
Morning temperature: 36 degrees (felt like 27)
Morning steps: 7359
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