First Houses

What to know

First Houses is a historic public housing development located in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood. It holds the distinction of being the first public housing project in the United States, serving as a critical precedent for later government-sponsored low-rent housing across the city and the nation. The project grew out of a 1933 competition announced by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia to design the city's first public housing project. The development was completed in 1936 and was built on the site of old tenements that were condemned and demolished in 1934. The architecture consists of six-story red-brick apartment buildings that occupy nearly the entire block front along East 3rd Street and Avenue A. These buildings are organized with a simplified Renaissance Revival style, providing a modest but dignified architecture for the city's first public housing effort. The complex contains 122 apartments across eight buildings that are either four or five stories tall. The first tenants moved into these three-room or four-room apartments on December 3, 1935, and the project was dedicated and opened by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), which had been recently established at the time. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974, First Houses remains a symbol of the early history of public housing. It was designed by architects Frederick L. Ackerman, Frank G. Winkler, and Aymar Embury II, with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray as associate architects.

Visitor tips

• The site is viewable from the street at any time, so you can visit during any part of the day.
• Since this is a residential area, please be respectful of the residents' privacy while viewing the architecture from the sidewalk.
• Use public transportation to reach the site, as it is easily accessible by public transit.

Nearby context

Located in the heart of the East Village, First Houses is situated between First Avenue and Avenue A, occupying a significant portion of the block front along East 3rd Street and Avenue A. It stands as a a historical anchor in a neighborhood known for its eclectic mix of residential and architecture.