Schermerhorn Row Block

This city block at the edge of lower Manhattan's old port contains a group of brick warehouse and commercial buildings from the early 1800s. Its core is Schermerhorn Row, built in 1811 and 1812 by ship's chandler Peter Schermerhorn on landfill that had been part of the East River. He intended the row to be a leading mercantile center, and merchants were its first occupants. Later tenants included grocers, hotels, saloons, eating houses, woodworking shops and clothiers, so the buildings record the growth of the port's economy. The block also includes buildings on Front Street and Burling Slip, mostly built in the first half of the 19th century, with some parts possibly as early as 1793. Many have load-bearing masonry walls and early wooden hoists, and one retains fish-smoking kilns. Some were raised in height or given a mansard roof in later years. The block is regarded as one of the last surviving pieces of New York's sailing-age waterfront.