Mott Haven Historic District
Why it's listed
Mott Haven Historic District covers roughly ten blocks of the South Bronx, centered on Alexander Avenue. Row houses of three to five stories make up most of the district, with shops and services along East 138th Street and Third Avenue. High-rise housing projects now tower around the older blocks. Construction dates run from the early 1860s to the 1920s, though most buildings went up in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Styles include Renaissance Revival, neo-Grec, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival and Victorian Gothic, yet scale, materials and craftsmanship give the area a consistent look. Architects generally designed whole blocks of row houses as units, producing uniform cornice lines and ironwork. Notable buildings include St. Jerome's Roman Catholic Church of 1898, the Tercera Iglesia Bautista of 1900-1902, the Mott Haven branch library of 1905, the 40th Precinct police station of 1922-24, two Romanesque Revival warehouses of 1912-13, and a former theatre building of 1896 on Third Avenue.
Significance in brief: The district preserves a cohesive group of late nineteenth and early twentieth century urban buildings, mostly designed as unified rows of houses. Despite a wide range of styles, common scale, materials and craftsmanship give it unity. The surrounding area has been redeveloped with high-rise housing, but these blocks retain their original character.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80002586, listed March 25, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | An irregular pattern along Alexander Ave. and E. 140th St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | The Bronx |
| Listed | March 25, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002586 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Dehli & Howard (St. Jerome's Church); Carl A. Millner (apartment houses); Thomas E. O'Brien (police station); Ward & Davis and Frank F. Ward (Baptist church and parsonage); Babb, Cook & Willard (library); Seifert-Webb Associates (warehouses); J.B. McElfatrick & Son (theatre building) |
| Architectural style | Mixed late 19th and early 20th century styles including Renaissance Revival, Greek Revival, neo-Grec, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival and Victorian Gothic |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The former Theatre Metropolis building at 2640-52 Third Avenue is described as presently vacant; the rest of the district is described as primarily residential, with shops on East 138th Street and Third Avenue. |
| Acreage | 11 |
| Coordinates | 40.81146, -73.92708 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80002586.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6918624
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.