Why are tenements mainly named after girls?
Or maybe the question should be why unremarkable five- and six-story apartment buildings have names at all. Sometimes you see one with a male name, but mainly they’re named after women. I guess it was a way for the builders to honor their wives, mothers, and daughters. I wonder who Henrietta was, and why her name graces this tenement on Madison Street: The Bertha, with this lovely flower motif, is in Harlem: Here’s more on the women who gave their names to New York City buildings.
