32 Dominick Street House

History and architecture

The 32 Dominick Street House was one of twelve Federal style brick row houses (nos. 28 to 50) built c. 1826 on the south side of Dominick Street between Hudson and Varick Streets; and was one of five houses (No. 28 to 36) constructed by builder Smith Bloomfield. A secession of tenants lived in the house while owned by Bloomfield and it was sold by the executors of his estate to Mary McKindley in 1866.

Her heirs conveyed it to John F. Wilson, a carpenter, in 1878. Wilson’s devisee sold it to the Church of Our Lady of Vilnius, which used it as a rectory. The church, located on Broome Street, was founded to serve the Lithuanian Catholic community and closed in 2007. The construction of the Holland Tunnel (1919-27) necessitated the condemnation of several lots at the center of the block and the raising of Dominick Street. As a result of its construction, trucking traffic increased and large loft buildings were constructed in the neighborhood.

The 32 Dominick Street House is a remarkable, rare surviving example of a Federal style house in Manhattan. Its design is characteristic of the Federal style and the house retains a significant amount of its original architectural fabric, including its original form and materials, two-and-a-half story height and 20-foot width, and front facade with Flemish bond brickwork, high peaked roof with dormers and cornice. Of the twelve Federal style row houses built on the south side of Dominick Street between Hudson and Varick Streets, the 32 Dominick Street House is one of only four remaining and is the one that is the most intact, retaining its Federal-era form and materials.