Stuyvesant Tour

This building was named after the country estate of Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (September 21, 1778 – August 16, 1847), the 2x great grandson of Peter Stuyvesant, who originally owned the land underneath.
Peter Gerard Stuyvesant was one of the largest and wealthiest land owners in New York City, second only to John Jacob Astor in terms of wealth and property in all of the United States. He owned the 60 acre Stuyvesant family bouwerie (or farm) which he developed into residential housing from Houston Street to 23rd Street. Stuyvesant lived in one of the Stuyvesant country homes, known as Petersfield, overlooking the East River between 16th and 17th Streets until 1825 when he sold the house and 200 lots for $100,000. Stuyvesant was a founder and president of the New-York Historical Society. In 1836, Stuyvesant and his wife sold four acres of the family farm to the City of New York for five dollars as a public park which was originally known as Holland Square, but later became Stuyvesant Square. The western boundary of the park, Rutherfurd Place, was named after his wife.

On March 12, 1651, Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of the Dutch West India Company, purchased Bouwerie (Dutch for ‘farm’) #1 and part of Bouwerie #2 in what is today’s East Village and the area South of Union Square. While these landholdings only remained farmland for a fraction of their existence, the area between present-day 5th and 20th Streets, from Fourth Avenue to the East River, would nevertheless remain in the Stuyvesant family for many generations. Though the land eventually traded hands to new owners, the Stuyvesant family imprint can still be seen on the neighborhood today in a number of ways. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.