Why name a tenement after the U.S. Senate?

It must have been a less politically cynical age: In 1903, developers built two 6-story tenement-style apartment buildings on Second Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets. They named one the W.M. Evarts, after a respected senator from New York. The other was called The U.S. Senate, again after Evarts.

So what did Evarts do to merit two buildings in his honor? He was President Andrew Johnson’s Attorney General, represented Johnson during his impeachment trial in the 1860s, served as Rutherford B. Hayes’ Secretary of State, then bid his time as a Senator until 1891. 

Plus, Evarts was a neighborhood guy; his home was on Second Avenue and 11th Street.

Tags: East Village Tenements, President Andrew Johnson, U.S. Senate, W.M. Evarts