This guide is intended to help researchers interested in researching buildings in New York City. It includes information about the uses and availability of property maps, censuses, city directories, land conveyances, photographs, newspapers, published local histories, ephemera, and other archival and published sources available at The New York Public Library, and elsewhere in the Five Boroughs.
This research guide is divided into sections that address common building research goals, including researching
Preparation: before you start your research, you will need to find key data that will help you find the various records that describe the history of a building in NYC. For this you'll be looking at databases, maps, and photographs and other images.
This guide will include links to a selection of other building research guides and examples of building histories.
This guide is also intended as a supplement to the NYPL class Researching the History of Your New York City Home. See Genealogy Essentials for details of when the next class is.
Image: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Talman Street, #57" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1936.
Different records answer different research questions about buildings. The table below suggest some of the most useful sources in order of detail.
QUESTION | 1ST CHOICE | 2ND CHOICE | 3RD CHOICE |
---|---|---|---|
"When was a NYC building constructed?" | |||
"Who Lived in a Building?" | |||
"Who owned a building?" | Property deeds | Census records | |
"Who designed a building?' | Landmark Preservation Commission reports | Real estate news |
For researchers with print disabilities, the Library has resources and services available upon request. The following services are available:
Researchers who are homebound or have a print disability or visual impairment can explore many of our research collections online and request digitization of specific items of interest. To request the digitization service, email accessibility@nypl.org. Please note that you must be a patron of the Andrew Heiskell Library. This digitization service only includes material belonging to the research collections and does not apply to branch/circulating collections.
Every public PC at all New York Public Library locations is equipped with JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion softwares.
The Andrew Heiskell Library offers popular reading materials in accessible audio and braille formats, as well as free membership to the Bookshare database of over one million accessible texts. It also offers individual coaching and a large variety of group workshops on topics related to accessible technology. Check the listings on our website, call 212-206-5400, or email talkingbooks@nypl.org
For more information, see the Accessibility at NYPL page.