House: 111 East 19th Street

The Morris K. Jessup House 111 East 19th Street was erected in 1855 as an Anglo-Italian brownstone. It was originally numbered 65 East 19th and renumbered in 1866 to 111 by New York State Attorney General Thomas J. Oakley, who owned the house. Mr. Jessup leased the house from Attorney General Oakley. Jessup was known for his charitable work. According to the Dayton in Manhattan “over the course of his life would donate massive amounts of money to the poor in America and abroad”. Various tenants leased the house and by the 1890s, Howard Bartle, a book cover artist, lived there. By 1911, another artist, muralist T. Gilbert White, leased the house. The residence was a gathering point for patrons of the arts. The house was always used as a single family residence. The facade of the house remains original restored condition – the inside of the house is now a contemporary masterpiece designed for energy efficient 21st century living.

Building Description Provided by Mara Flash Blum