Block & Lot: A Tribeca Street That Welcomes the Whole Family

Flanked by two parks, surrounded by a myriad of schools, and steeped in history, Block 150 in Tribeca—bounded by Reade Street, Duane Street, Hudson Street, and Greenwich Street—has something to offer for everyone in the family. 

More recently, in the late 19th century, Duane Street was the heart of Lower Manhattan’s wholesale “butter and egg” district. Today, this legacy is reflected in the architecture of the block. At 176-184 Duane Street, Tribeca’s most common early building type, the store-and-loft building, is exemplified by a quartet of identical structures. Historically, store-and-loft buildings spanned four to seven stories, with storefront space on the ground floor, offices above, and storage or manufacturing on the remaining floors. Designed by John B. Snook in 1868, the buildings on Duane Street even feature Tribeca’s iconic entrance canopies, which were installed to protect perishable goods from the sun. 

Two buildings down, at 172 Duane Street, the area’s butter and egg legacy remains visible to those with a discerning eye. Hiding behind a scaffolding shed, a pair of ornate cast-iron arches from 1872 conceal a spare, glass-block-fronted structure. By the 1990s, Tribeca was no longer home to butter and egg dealers, but in 1991, architect Vincenzo Polsinelli preserved and restored the cast-iron facade, which still features an egg-and-dart pattern along the spans. 

Meanwhile, on Reade Street, historic buildings mix with tasteful, contemporary townhouses like 138 and 144 Reade Street—six- and eight-story townhouses, both designed by BKSK Architects—and a red-brick 1990s townhouse at 148 Reade, which was renovated by Richard Gluckman, the architect behind the Gagosian Gallery. 

Tribeca is known for its family-friendliness, cobblestone streets, and its crop of converted warehouses. Like much of the neighborhood, Block 150 has stayed true to its history, embracing modernity along the way.