Filed Under Lower East Side (New York,…

Henry Street Settlement (Main House)

Henry Street Settlement (Main House)

By Abigail Lewis
265-267 Henry Street
265-267 Henry Street This 1940 tax photograph shows the Henry Street Settlement at 265-267 Henry Street, as neighboring brick properties with three stories over raised basements. The buildings feature short stoops with attached iron railings, decorative stone window trim, and projecting cornices at the roofline. The closely spaced buildings surrounding the settlement reflect the dense residential character of the Lower East Side during the 20th century. Source: New York City Municipal Archives Creator: New York (N.Y.). Department of Finance Date: 1939-1941

"The famous Henry Street Settlement, at 265 Henry, a block south of East Broadway, still maintains its modest main house. Opened in 1893 by one of the great pioneers in social work, Lillian Wald, the settlement has attracted world-wide attention through its work in nursing the sick, aiding in the solution of domestic and social problems, and striving for better housing, recreation, and education facilities in the slums of the Lower East Side" (Federal Writers' Project N.Y.,p. 115).

Poor living conditions, limited availability of social services, and a lack of healthcare for immigrant residents of the Lower East Side were all too common a sight for nurses Lillian Wald and Mary Brewster (Henry Street Settlement). From their experiences, the pair of nurses drew inspiration to found the Nurses’ Settlement in 1892, later renamed the Henry Street Settlement, with the mission of providing non-profit social, educational, and health services to poor urban communities (Wikipedia contributors, 2026). By 1895, 265 Henry Street had been purchased by banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff, who, after its renovation, gifted the town-home-style property to the young organization, which served as the Henry Street Settlement headquarters and became the first settlement in the United States to offer visiting nurse service (Buhler-Wilkerson, p. 591). By the beginning of the twentieth century, the settlement had expanded its capacity, operated a seven-day-a-week nursing service and convalescent homes, and maintained first-aid stations and community clubs (Buhler-Wilkerson, p. 591). The Henry Street Settlement established itself as one of the most adaptable settlement institutions in New York City (Boyd-Caroli, pp. 1171-1172); it expanded its programs and services as community needs changed over time, having housed 41 women by 1911, provided 24-hour labor and maternal care, and established educational health conferences for infancy and motherhood (Buhler-Wilkerson, p. 591).

Audio

Analysis of 1940 Tax Department Photograph Henry Street Settlement An analysis of the 1940 New York City Tax Department photograph of the Henry Street Settlement house as it appeared in the 1940s. The image was taken across the street, looking directly at the connected brick buildings which served as the Settlement headquarters, community center, and the original establishment. The buildings rise to 3 stories tall above raised basements and feature flat roofing with decorative, projecting stone cornices. There are evenly spaced multi-pane, rectangular windows framed by stone lintels. The center building features shuttered windows and a columned entrance with a wooden door, the entrance lined with iron railing leading to the sidewalk. To the left, there is a part of the neighboring building with a metal fire escape, and on the right, a taller building with rounded windows on its upper floors. Bare trees line the sidewalk, and an early automobile is parked in the foreground of the photograph. Source: Written & Recorded by Abigail Lewis Date: 26 July 2026

Images

265-267 Henry Street
265-267 Henry Street This 1940 tax photograph shows the Henry Street Settlement at 265-267 Henry Street, as neighboring brick properties with three stories over raised basements. The buildings feature short stoops with attached iron railings, decorative stone window trim, and projecting cornices at the roofline. The closely spaced buildings surrounding the settlement reflect the dense residential character of the Lower East Side during the 20th century. Source: New York City Municipal Archives Creator: New York (N.Y.). Department of Finance Date: 1939-1941
Plate 14, Part of Section 1: [Bounded by East Broadway, Grand Street, East Street, Water Street, Corlears Street, South Street and Montgomery Street]
Plate 14, Part of Section 1: [Bounded by East Broadway, Grand Street, East Street, Water Street, Corlears Street, South Street and Montgomery Street] This 1930 Bromley Real Estate Atlas map shows that the 265 Henry Street Settlement had expanded into building 267, nestled among a mix of brick residential buildings and shops or stores, with a children's playground on the east side of the block and a synagogue on the northwestern side. Block 287 on all four sides was surrounded by four streets: East Broadway to the north and Henry Street to the south, each sixty feet wide, and Montgomery Street to the west and Gouverneur Street to the east, each fifty feet wide. To the east, block 288 held a large public school, with a large shop and another settlement house down the road. Source: New York Public Library Digital Collections Creator: G.W. Bromley & Co. Date: 1930
265-67 Henry Street
265-67 Henry Street This 1980s tax department photograph shows the Henry Street Settlement headquarters at 265-267 Henry Street. The brick buildings feature stone sills, rectangular multi-pane windows, and decorative architectural molding. The three- and four-story buildings in view adjoin over raised basements and are fenced with iron railings leading to their main entrances, each having its own projecting roof cornice. Noticeable differences from the 1940s photograph include mature trees, modern vehicles in the street, lack of window shutters, and updated entrance doors as well as decorative stone lintels. Source: New York City Municipal Archives Creator: New York (N.Y.). Department of Finance Date: 1983-1988
Henry Street Settlement 263-267 Henry Street
Henry Street Settlement 263-267 Henry Street This color photograph shows the Henry Street Settlement headquarters from buildings 265 through 267 on Henry Street. The buildings' exteriors are brick and bright red, the windows decorated with stone lintels and sills, and the tops of the structures retaining their projecting cornices. Short stoops with black iron railings guide to the front entrances. Source: Wikimedia; Henry Street Settlement 263-267 Henry Street Creator: Beyond My Ken Date: 3 September 2011
265 Henry Street, Henry Street Settlement (Google Street View)
265 Henry Street, Henry Street Settlement (Google Street View) This street view of 265 through 267 Henry Street Settlement headquarters in 2026. The three-story settlement building is flanked by its brick counterparts, including a taller four-story building with an exterior fire escape on one side. Decorative window accents remain, and modern in-window air conditioning units hang from a number of windowpanes of the buildings. The far-right-hand building's facade is refreshed with a vibrant red entrance with gold accents and new glass window panels. Source: 265 Henry St, N.Y., Google Street View Date: April 2026

Location

265 Henry Street, New York, NY

Metadata

Related Resources

  1. Boyd Caroli, Betty. “Settlement Houses.” In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T.Jackson, Lisa Keller, and Nancy V. Flood. Second Edition. Yale University Press, 2010, pp. 1170-1172. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vm1cb.24.
  2. Buhler-Wilkerson, Karen. “Henry Street Settlement.” In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T.Jackson, Lisa Keller, and Nancy V. Flood. Second Edition. Yale University Press, 2010, p. 591. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vm1cb.13.
  3. Henry Street Settlement. “Henry Street Headquarters.” Nonprofit organization. Henry Street Settlement. Accessed June 29, 2026. https://www.henrystreet.org/about/our-buildings/henry-street-headquarters/.
  4. Federal Writers’ Project (N.Y.). New York City Guide; a Comprehensive Guide to the Five Boroughs of the Metropolis: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond. With Prelinger Library. New York, Random House, 1939. http://archive.org/details/newyorkcityguide00federich.
  5. Wikipedia. “Henry Street Settlement.” June 8, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Street_Settlement&oldid=1358400822.

Citation Info

Abigail Lewis, “Henry Street Settlement (Main House): Henry Street Settlement (Main House),” New York City Guide 1939, accessed September 17, 2026, https://ajlewis.org/items/show/3.

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