369 Bleecker Street (left) was a mirror-image of 367. The Charles Street homes, built simultaneously, are directly behind 367, at the right.
By the mid-1860s, the Second Empire style was highly popular in America, its mansard roofs giving a decidedly French flair to Manhattan streets. In 1867, grocer E. C. Henry Kugeler hired architect Henry Engelbert, who was currently working on the design of the Second Empire-style Grand Hotel on Broadway, to design four structures at the northeast corner of Bleecker Street and Van Nest Place (later Charles Street)--two four-story mansions on Van Nest Place and two store-and-flat buildings facing Bleecker.
Completed in 1868, the two Bleecker Street buildings were designed as mirror-images. Despite their the storefronts, the brick-faced edifices were imposing. Their segmentally-arched openings originally wore molded brownstone lintels. Above the cornice was a slate shingled mansard with dormers capped with elegant triangular pediments. Both buildings were designed to house just three families above the ground floor. (Apparently the attic level was reserved for servants or storage.)
The commercial space in 367 Bleecker Street was leased to the Cole & Fox dry goods store, run principally by Theodore Fox who lived on West 30th Street. Among the original residents upstairs were James Bousinger, an importer, and his family; and the Springsteen family.
Henry Springsteen held a relatively new job, a professional firefighter. Prior to 1865, fires were fought by volunteer companies throughout the city. When a bill was introduced in the State Senate to abolish those companies and establish the Metropolitan Fire Department in January that year, The New York Times commented that it "has created a great excitement in fire circles, and among the better class of firemen it is not very favorably received."
But by the time the Springsteens moved into 367 Bleecker Street, the uproar had settled. Henry worked at Engine Company No. 19. George H. Springsteen, on the other hand, had a more white collar job, working as a clerk.
On October 8, 1871, a conflagration broke out in Chicago. Dry and windy conditions resulted in a two-day inferno that would be known as the Great Chicago Fire. The nation reacted with an outpouring of aid. The disaster caused another to be greatly overlooked. Calling it "The Great Northwestern Fire," on October 21, New York Herald reported, "The needs of the sufferers by Wisconsin fires are very great; thousands are utterly destitute and must be assisted for many months." The article noted, "Mr. Fisher, of the Anchor Life Insurance Company, yesterday forwarded one bundle of clothing from Coles & Fox, 367 Bleecker Street."
Unlike some dry goods stores that offered women only the raw goods to create their clothing, Cole & Fox also produced apparel. On December 16, 1872, it placed an advertisement in the New York Herald that read (rather sternly): "Dressmaker wanted; come prepared to work."
In 1876, George H. Springsteen changed his profession to "printer." Simultaneously, he established the Chatham, Jordan & Springsteen printing company with two locations--29 Charles Street and 367 Bleecker, supplanting Cole & Fox here.
Unfortunately, George Springsteen's venture did not work out. The following year, Chatham, Jordan & Springsteen disappeared from city directories, and E. C. Henry Kugeler, who still owned the four buildings, moved in his grocery. (It was located at 386 Bleecker Street when he erected the buildings.) The Springsteen family left Bleecker Street that year, as well, moving to 90 Bank Street.
Now occupying the upper floors were Daniel A. Anderson, an agent who worked on Pier 49 on the Hudson River; Ira S. Otis, a clerk; and cabinetmaker John Lorenz. Otis and his family would remain here at least through 1886.
J. H. Goetchius leased 367 and 369 Bleecker street in 1891 and made "interior alterations," as described by the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide on September 26. Whatever the remodeling was, it was minimal, costing Goetchius the equivalent of only $7,000 in 2026.
An interesting resident here during the first years of the 20th century was Amos L. See, a widow. Born in Westchester County in 1837, his family moved to "old Greenwich Village," as worded by The New York Times, in 1856. He served in the Civil War as a captain with Company H, 71st Regiment. (His two sons fought in the same company during the Spanish American War.) Following the Civil War, See went into the business of manufacturing hardware.
In 1903, See retired. He suffered a fatal stroke in his apartment here on March 14, 1906. The New York Times said, "He was an enthusiastic fisherman, and he spent the last three years of his life fishing a little and talking and reading about it more."
E. C. Henry Kugeler died around 1909 and the two Bleecker Street buildings and the house that was still numbered 18 Van Nest Place were inherited by his daughters, Matilda C. Kugeler and Anna L. Zellweger. They sold the three properties at auction on March 15, 1910.
At the time, the residents of 367 Bleecker Street were less professional. Living here at the time was the family of John Walsh, who drove a wagon for an express company. That summer, the teamsters went on strike. Labor disputes in the first decades of the century were often violent and even deadly. On October 31, 1910, the New-York Tribune reported, "In expectation of trouble to-day Chief Monahan ordered the police to shoot any one seen inciting to riot and who ran when ordered by the police to submit to arrest." The extreme orders were, in part, a result of the rioting that occurred the previous day. During that affray, said the newspaper, "John Walsh, a driver, of No. 367 Bleecker street, was locked up on a charge of assaulting Patrolman M. J. Hogan."
The Walsh family was still here when war broke out in Europe. On October 1, 1918, William J. Walsh's name appeared on the list of soldiers wounded in battle.
In the post-war years, Peter H. Rieper ran the grocery store. Following the enactment of Prohibition, he started selling more than celery and eggs. On February 19, 1920, the New-York Tribune reported, "In a grocery at 367 Bleecker Street, Revenue Agents Loftus and Jacobs found thirteen bottles of wine and a quantity of gin." Rieper was jailed.
A grocery still occupied the ground floor in 1941. via the NYC Dept of Records & Information Services.
In 1967, Pierre Moulin and Pierre LeVec created a French Provicial antiques shop, Pierre Deux (The Two Pierres), here. The shop branched out, importing fabrics from the south of France. The New York Times would later report, "Before long, there were 22 Pierre Deux shops around the world."
The partners gave the building an even more Parisian flavor by installing French windows throughout. Shopping at Pierre Deux could be costly. New York Magazine said, "this crowded West Village antiques shop has two floors of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French Country, as well as twentieth-century--tables, chairs, commodes, beds, and more. Armoires start at $8,000, farm tables at $5,000."
In 1989, Moulin and LeVec retired, selling all of the shops except 367 Bleecker Street. LeVec died in 1998 and Moulin the following year.
Pierre Deux closed in 2011 and in 2013 Burberry Brit moved into the space. In reporting the opening, Retail Market Study 2013 remarked, "The budding fashion district that is 367 Bleecker Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village has a new destination. In October, Burberry opened their latest Burberry Brit store."
Despite the loss of the molded lintels, 367 Bleecker Street is still a commanding presence on the corner.
photographs by the author
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