Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse
About this property
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the name Nurses' Settlement in 1893 by progressive reformer and nurse Lillian Wald. The Settlement serves about 50,000 people each year. Clients include low-income individuals and families, survivors of domestic violence, youth ages 2 through 21, individuals with mental and physical health challenges, senior citizens, and arts and culture enthusiasts who attend performances, classes and exhibitions at Henry Street's Abrons Arts Center. The Settlement's administrative offices are still located in its original (c. 1832) federal row houses at 263, 265 and 267 Henry Street in Manhattan. Services are offered at 17 program sites throughout the area, many of them located in buildings operated by the New York City Housing Authority. The Settlement's buildings at 263, 265 and 267 Henry Street became New York City designated landmarks in 1966. These buildings, along with the Neighborhood Playhouse building at 466 Grand Street, were collectively added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. The buildings at 265 and 267 Henry Street were re-added to the NRHP in 2022 under the name Lillian Wald House. In 1892, Lillian Wald, a 25-year-old nurse then enrolled in the Women's Medical College, volunteered to teach a class on home health care for immigrant women at the Louis Down-Town Sabbath and Daily School on the Lower East Side. One day, she was approached by a young girl who kept repeating "mommy ... baby ... blood". Wald gathered some sheets from her bed-making lesson and followed the child to her home, a cramped two-room tenement apartment. Inside, she found the child's mother who had recently given birth and in need of health care. The doctor tending to her had left because she could not afford to pay him. This was Wald's first experience with poverty; she called the episode her "baptism by fire" and dedicated herself to bringing nursing care, and eventually education and access to the arts, to the immigrant poor on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The next year she founded the Nurses' Settlement, which later changed its name to the Henry Street Settlement. One worker with Wald in the Settlement was Mabel R. Goodlander, who later became a significant figure in progressive education in New York through her work with the Ethical Culture School. Two years later, in 1895, Jacob Schiff, a banker and philanthropist purchased the Federal style townhouse at 265 Henry Street for the new organization to use. The building was expanded upwards with an additional story to provide more space, and Schiff donated the building to the Settlement in 1903. The year before, the Settlement had added new facilities, including a gymnasium at 299, 301 and 303 Henry Street.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse listed on the National Register?
Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1974.
What type of historic resource is Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse?
Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse?
The period of significance for Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Henry Street Settlement and Neighborhood Playhouse will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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