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House History Research at The New York Public Library: DESIGN

A Guide For Researching the Histories of NYC Residential Buildings

DRAWINGS

One of the most comprehensive collections for New York City architectural drawings is the Manhattan Building Plan Collection at the Municipal Archives. The plans typically include drawings for buildings built between 1866-1970s, that were still standing from 1971 on. This collection is still being processed, but some digitized plans are available online. Contact the Municipal Archives for further advice.

The image features architectural floor plans of two apartment designs, labeled "Huldana" and "Helena," both oriented vertically on a light beige background. The plans are arranged in a two-by-two grid, with "Huldana" at the top and "Helena" at the bottom. Each design showcases a first-floor and an upper-floor plan side by side. The floor plans are colored with soft pastels: mint green, beige, and light blue distinguish different sections. Rooms are labeled with dimensions in feet and inches. The central area between the plans contains descriptive text about the floor plans, with decorative elements including simple geometric patterns.The image is a blueprint of a building's floor plan, drawn in white lines on a blue background. The layout displays a rectangular room labeled "STORE" occupying most of the space, with doors marked for entry. The plan includes annotations and technical specifications, such as measurements and instructions for construction changes. Labels such as "Remove partitions" and indications of current structural elements appear throughout. Stairs and a vestibule are detailed on the left side of the plan. The right side contains notes on structural components like girders and columns. Element sizing and arrangement are intricately detailed with various specifications noted along the lines.The image shows a detailed architectural floor plan, rendered in white lines on a blue background, resembling a traditional blueprint. The plan appears to depict a restaurant layout. To the left, there is a vestibule marked as an entrance area with doors leading into the building. A series of small rectangular booth and table arrangements are shown along the top, labeled as part of a dining area. In the center, the word “RESTAURANT” is clearly written, with a long counter indicated below. On the right side, there's a complex arrangement of smaller rooms, including labeled areas such as kitchen and restrooms. Various notations and measurements are written throughout the plan. The blueprint is delineated by white guidelines, with text and dimensions indicating different sections and functional areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above top, Plan for the 1st floor of 385 Avenue of the Americas, from 1948: as a liquor store, and as a projected diner (below), the Waverly Diner. (Manhattan Building Plan Collection, Courtesy the Municipal Archives).

 

Though NYPL does not have extensive collections of architectural drawings, it is possible that collections might include drawings and floor plans for a building. 

Try using keyword terms to find useful subject terms in NYPL Research Catalog to locate published materials that may include architectural drawings, blueprints, or floor plans. For instance

  • Apartment houses -- New York (State) -- New York
  • There may be a book or pamphlet on a building, architect or architectural firm. Try searching a building by its name or street address, or the name of the architect or owner under ‘Subject‘, ‘Author’ or ‘All Fields'.

Search in NYPL Archives using the name or address of a building, the architect, builder, or owner, for instance.

For example, 

NYPL Digital Collections includes

  • The World's loose leaf album of apartment houses (1910) Published in 1910, this is a reference guide for developers and the real estate industry to entice potential middle and upper class tenants to New York City’s "principle high class apartment houses." Each featured apartment building is briefly described, and illustrated with an exterior photograph and one or more floor plans. Includes index of renting agents.
  • Apartment houses of the metropolis (1908) Published in 1908 as a reference guide for developers and the real estate industry to entice potential middle and upper class tenants to New York City’s new and luxurious apartment houses. Each featured apartment building is briefly described, and illustrated with an exterior photograph and one or more floor plans.
  • Try also searching keywords, like floor plan, setting the date filter to include the years a drawing was made.

Some I-Cards include rough drawings of a residential building's floor plan.

Sanborn Fire Insurance maps sometimes give clues to a building's layout, but seldom for residential buildings.

ARCHITECTS AND BUILDERS

Again, librarians in the NYPL Art and Architecture Collection can advise you on researching architects. Some useful resources include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left,  Obituary for architect David Jardine, who's firm D. & J. Jardine designed the building that became the Waverly Diner. New York Tribune, June 2, 1892, p.5 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)