Isaac T. Hopper House
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The Isaac T. Hopper House is a
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...
at 110 Second Avenue between East 6th and
7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...
Streets in the East Village neighborhood of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Located just south of the New Middle Collegiate Church, it was built in 1837 and 1838 as a rowhouse. The building was also known as the Ralph and Ann E. Van Wyck Mead House, after its first owner. 110 Second Avenue is the only remaining rowhouse out of a group of four at 106–112 Second Avenue that was used by the Meads' extended family, and was originally known as 108 Second Avenue. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1986, and was designated a
New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...
in 2009. It is also located within the
East Village/Lower East Side Historic District __NOTOC__ The East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in Lower Manhattan, New York City was created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 9, 2012.Brazee, Christopher D., et al"East Village/Lower East Side Histor ...
, which was created in October 2012.


History


Development

The area that is today known as the East Village was originally occupied by the
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
Native Americans before later being settled by the Dutch as part of
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
. Several large farms were built in the East Village area, including that of
New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
director-general
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...
. and these wealthy country estates by the middle of the 18th century. After a street grid was laid out in accordance with the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811 The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march upto ...
, development of rowhouses came to the East Village by the early 1830s. By the 1830s and 1840s, the East Village was known as one of New York City's wealthiest neighborhoods, though this reputation was relatively short-lived as wealthy families moved to
Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...
. The lots at 106–112 Second Avenue were originally part of the Nicholas W. Stuyvesant estate before being sold to developer Thomas E. Davis between 1830 and 1835. Davis never developed the lots, instead selling them to Benjamin, Ralph, and Staats (States) M. Mead, three brothers who developed the lots for their own houses in 1837–1838. The Hopper House was originally house #108, while Ralph Mead and his then-wife Sarah Holmes Mead initially lived in the original #110.


Use

Margaret Robertson bought 108 Second Avenue for $18,500 in 1839, though the house was actually occupied by her son David H. Robertson, a merchant who went bankrupt in 1842. The house was foreclosed upon and was purchased in 1844 for $6,800, at which point ownership was transferred to Ralph Mead. Around this time, 106 Second Avenue was built to the south of the existing rowhouses at 108-112 Second Avenue, and Ralph sold his existing residence at #110 and moved to the next unit south, #108 (the current Hopper House). Ralph Mead lived at #108 with his new wife, Ann Eliza Van Wyck, from 1845 to 1857. The unit was also simultaneously occupied by Ralph's daughter Lydia and her husband Nathan J, Bailey until 1847. The other units in the block also housed other members of the Mead family. Between 1843 and 1858, #112 was the home of Ralph's son's father-in-law, the merchant Francis T. Luqueer, who lived there with his son John. #106 was occupied by Ralph's daughter Harriet Mead, who was married to the son of New York City mayor James Harper. 108 Second Avenue remained owned by the Mead family until 1870. It was leased to the extended family of Montgerald de Girardin, a bookkeeper from
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, between 1858 and 1862. By 1866, the house was occupied by a doctor named Herman Milgan. When Ralph died in 1866, his son Melville Emory Mead took over ownership. His sister Elizabeth Alvina Mead, along with Elizabeth's husband Edwin Hyde, were living in the house by 1867. The house was renumbered to #110 in 1870, and was sold to George H. and Cornelia W. Poole Ellery for $20,000. Though the Ellerys primarily lived in Rhode Island, they briefly lived at 110 Second Avenue from 1872 to 1874. In July 1874, the house was purchased for $32,500 by the
Women's Prison Association The Women's Prison Association (WPA), founded 1845, is the oldest advocacy group for women in the United States. Lawney Reyes, ''B Street: The Notorious Playground of Coulee Dam'', University of Washington Press, 2008, . The organization has histor ...
(WPA), founded in 1845 by Quaker abolitionists and prison reformers Isaac Tatem Hopper and his daughter
Abigail Hopper Gibbons Abigail Hopper Gibbons, née Abigail Hopper (December 7, 1801 – January 16, 1893) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, schoolteacher, and Welfare spending, social welfare activist. She assisted in founding and led ...
. At the time of the move, the WPA had been renamed the Isaac T. Hopper Home and had previously occupied a smaller location at 191 Tenth Avenue. Upon moving to the new location at 110 Second Avenue, the Home set up laundry rooms and household work spaces in the basement, and two sewing rooms on the second floor. The first floor was expanded into the rear yard in 1875 and 1882. Records show that in the year the house was purchased, the WPA served more than 300 women in the building. The house was used primarily by recently released female prisoners. The surrounding neighborhood went through changes in the early 20th century, as the blocks of Second Avenue around the house became known as the
Yiddish Theatre District The Yiddish Theatre District, also called the Jewish Rialto and the Yiddish Realto, was the center of New York City's Yiddish theatre scene in the early 20th century. It was located primarily on Second Avenue, though it extended to Avenue B, ...
. Subsequently, the area became a primarily Hispanic neighborhood and a busy arts district in the mid-20th century. Throughout this era, the Isaac T. Hopper House continued to serve the Women's Prison Association as a
halfway house A halfway house is a type of prison or institute intended to teach (or reteach) the necessary skills for people to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. Halfway houses are typically either state sponsored for those ...
., p.172 ''The New York Times'' wrote in 2009 that the WPA intentionally made the building appear nondescript since it was still in use as a home. At the time, the Isaac T. Hopper House contained space for up to 20 women. The house is one of a few that remain from the East Village's years as an upscale neighborhood. In December 2020, the Isaac T. Hopper House narrowly avoided burning down from a blaze that engulfed the neighboring
Middle Collegiate Church The Middle Collegiate Church is a United Church of Christ church located at 112 Second Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
, by deep. The basement is half a story below ground and contains a brownstone facade, while the three stories above it contain a brick facade. The building is slightly set back from the sidewalk and contains a small front yard behind a metal fence. The front stoop, located half a story above ground level, is in the rightmost bay and leads to a small brownstone
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
supported by
Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...
. The front doorway contains wooden double doors designed in the
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
style. The windows on the building have metal
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
s and sills, which replaced the original stone lintels and sills, and also formerly contained shutters. There are nineteen rooms in the building, many of which contain
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
s with marble
mantels The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and c ...
in the
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
style. The rooms retain their original layout and have not been subdivided, unlike in other rowhouses in the East Village. The first floor serves as a "parlor level" and contains two parlors, one in the front and one facing the back. The rooms are separated by a sliding wooden door flanked by two Ionic columns. Wooden motifs in the Greek Revival style are present within the rooms. A skylight is also located on the third floor.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Manhattan Island below 14th Street, which is a significant portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan Manhatt ...
*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the Government of New York City, New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated ov ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopper, Isaac T., House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Houses completed in 1838 East Village, Manhattan Greek Revival architecture in New York City Second Avenue (Manhattan) 1838 establishments in New York (state)