Haffen Building, Willis Avenue and 148th Street

The Haffen Building is a seven-story Beaux-Arts style office building designed by architect Michael J. Garvin and erected in 1901 to 1902 by brewery owner Mathias Haffen. The building is located in the western Bronx neighborhood of Melrose, an area predominantly populated by GermanAmericans during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Haffen Building was part of the rapid development of the “the Hub,” the commercial center of Melrose, which centered on the intersection of East 149th Street, Melrose, Willis and Third Avenues. By the turn of the 20th century, the Haffen family was one of the main families of the Bronx, having made essential contributions to the physical and social infrastructure of the Bronx including surveying and laying out of parks and the streets, developing real estate, and organizing of a number of civic, social, and financial institutions.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks

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Local Voices

“I don’t know what the City would be without HDC. [They] testified before LPC time after time and helped us focus on the right issues. We would not be an historic district without HDC! ”

Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

Local Voices

“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

Local Voices

“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

Local Voices

"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx