29 St. Mark’s Place Building Date : 1833 Original Use : Residential Original Owner : Thomas E. Davis Original Architect : Unknown Description & Building Alterations This property was once part of Peter Stuyvesant’s Bouwerie and purchased by real estate developer Thomas E. Davis, who developed Eighth Street into St. Mark’s Place. It was built as a single-family home of three stories in 1833 and tenementized in the 1870s. From 1856 through 1859, this building hosted the Harmonie Club, a German-Jewish singing club. By the late 19th century, the building was most likely being used as a boarding or lodging house, as many colorful incidents of various residents’ were reported during the time. In the 1930s, the building housed offices for Polish organizations and businesses. Artist-poet George Schneeman lived with his wife Katie and their family in this building from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Schneedman was the unofficial artist-in-residence of the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church, who worked often with poet-collaborators Bill Berkson and Ron Padget

31 St. Mark’s Place Building Date : 1833/1874 alt. Original Use : Residential Original Owner : Thomas E. Davis Original Architect : Unknown Description & Building Alterations Prolific real estate developer of St. Mark’s Place, Thomas E. Davis built this three-story row house in 1833. This stretch of Eighth Street property was purchased from Peter Stuyvesant and had recently been part of his Bouwerie before being converted into spacious homes on large lots. The brick building was tenementized in 1874 when it was enlarged to its current size. The building then housed two families per floor and was owned by J. Metcalfe. On a hot night in June 1897, a large fire broke out in this building and 18 families barely escaped with their lives. The fire started on the first floor and spread quickly via the hallway stair. Hook & Ladder No. 3 rescued many of the residents. The Old Law tenement building features a historic cornice and pedimented lintels above the second-floor windows.

27 St. Mark’s Place Building Date : 1893 Original Use : Residential Original Owner : Fay & Stacom Original Architect : Charles Rentz Description & Building Alterations This Old Law tenement was built in 1893 by architect Charles Rentz as a six-story masonry building and basement flat. The building’s original lintels remain and the second floor features highly ornamented detailed carvings and decorative trim. The previous building on this site was occupied by the Children’s Aid Society in the 1880’s prior to moving to Nos. 307 & 309 E 12th Street. 27 St. Mark’s Place served as the Children’s Aid Society’s Girls’ Lodging House from 1872 to 1892. The Children’s Aid Society was founded by clergymen and social reformers concerned about the general condition of homeless, delinquent and neglected children in 1853. Lodging Houses were opened to house homeless youth and an emigration program was initiated to send children off to homes in the country. The emigration program became more widely known as the “Orphan Train” utilizing the railroad network to move children westward.