2. Emma Lazarus: 18 W 10th Street

The apartment where Emma Lazarus lived  for most of her early life. Image via Daytonian in Manhattan 

Finished in 1856 and once called the Winslow Mansion, John E. Devlin sold the house in 1883 to a rich sugar merchant named Moses Lazarus. Lazarus’ daughter, Emma, would grow to write the iconic American poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, “The New Colossus.” Emma lived here for most of her early life with her six siblings and would always read books from her father’s library. Several artists lived on the same block at the time, so Emma had much inspiration to draw from. Today her home is still an apartment building.