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NYC Department of Records & Information Services - History
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On the Scene: Eugene de Salignac’s Photographs of Traffic Safety — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Eugene de Salignac served as Photographer for the Department of Plant & Structures (originally the Department of Bridges) from 1906 to 1934. During this time, the agency took on many of the functions that would later be taken over by the Department of Transportation and the MTA. When I wrote
History of Reproductive Rights in New York City - Exhibit — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
This week, the Department of Records and Information Services opened a ‘pop-up’ exhibit on the history of reproductive rights in New York. It begins in 1828, when providing an abortion after quickening first became illegal, and traces the story to the present day, highlighting the city’s current rep
Transcribing Records of Enslaved New Yorkers — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently announced an ambitious project at the Department of Records and Information Services to make accessible historical records documenting thousands of formerly enslaved New Yorkers. The records in the Municipal Archives date from 1660 through 1827 when New York S
The S.S. United States — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Shortly before noon on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, the luxury superliner S.S. United States began its final voyage. With news helicopters hovering overhead and escorted by five tugs, the largest passenger ship ever built in America slowly departed its berth in Philadelphia, bound for Florida’s pan
The 1890 Police Census–Digitized — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
The Municipal Archives recently completed digitizing the 1890 Police Census. Supported by a generous grant from the Peck-Stackpoole Foundation, project staff reformatted all 894 extant volumes of the collection to provide access (113 volumes are missing from the collection). They re-housed the volum
It’s Presidents Day — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
New York City government offices, including the Municipal Archives, close on the third Monday in February for Presidents Day. Banks, schools, the United States Post Office, and the New York Stock Exchange also observe the holiday. Archives collections document some presidential moments in the City’
Digitizing the David N. Dinkins Mayoral Photograph Collection — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Over the past year, the Municipal Archives has been busy working on the photograph collection of the Mayor David N. Dinkins administration that will be available on our digital platform, Preservica. As the archivist leading this project, I’ve been processing and digitizing both black-and-white and c
Displaced Persons — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
On June 25, 1948, more than three years after the war in Europe ended, President Harry S. Truman signed the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. The legislation was intended to help thousands of European refugees who had been displaced from their home countries during World War II, to settle in t
Department of Street Cleaning Photographs — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
“You Live in the Greatest City in the World – Let’s Make it the Cleanest and Healthiest,” is the wording on the sign on a Department of Street Cleaning cart photographed around 1908. The same sign today would not seem out of place on a Department of Sanitation truck and probably would have been a re
New York and President Jimmy Carter — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
On October 5, 1977, President Jimmy Carter visited the South Bronx. “The Presidential motorcade passed block after block of burned-out and abandoned buildings, rubble-strewn lots and open fire hydrants, and people shouting, “Give us money!” and “We want jobs!” Twice Mr. Carter got out of hi
Happy Birthday, Calvert Vaux! — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
This week For the Record celebrates the 200th birthday of Calvert Vaux, one of New York City’s most influential architects. If you are familiar with Vaux (pronounced Vox) at all, it is most likely as the co-designer of Central Park. Along with Fredrick Law Olmsted, Vaux created the past
Demonstrations, Disturbances, and a Papal Visit — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
After many years of planning and effort, the Municipal Archives launched online Collection Guides in October 2021. The Guides provide researchers with essential information about the Archives holdings in an easily searchable format. The Guides have allowed patrons to discover resources that are r
Tracts, Farms, and the Great Reindexing Project of 1911-1917 — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Introduction: why archive? Archives preserve materials for many reasons, some of which are not immediately obvious. It’s certainly true that some archived items have obvious historic importance, such as the Grand Jury indictments for the murder of Malcolm X.
Birthday Greetings, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge! — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Five hundred years ago, in a mission to find the Northwest Passage to Asia, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazano sailed along the northeastern coast of North America. He voyaged from present day North Carolina, to Nova Scotia, and became the first European known to have sailed
Trivia Night at the Archives! — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Question 1: Infamous NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses left an indelible mark upon the landscape of NYC including each of the following projects except: 1964 World’s Fair Queensboro Bridge Gowanus Expressway Lincoln Center Question 2: Designed by C
A Wikipedia for Street Names — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Earlier this week, the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) launched an interactive map , accessible on both desktop and mobile devices, to help people connect with the stories behind nearly 2,500 co-named streets, intersections, parks and other locations throughout the City. &a
Yankees v. Dodgers v. Giants — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Baseball fans know that the Yankees v. Dodgers games this week were not the first time the two faced off in the World Series. In 1941, the Yankees vanquished the Dodgers four games to one. At their next meeting in 1947, the Yankees won again, four games to three. The two teams dueled ten more times,
Race to the Top — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Municipal archivists processing records in the Manhattan Building Plans collection recently discovered blueprints submitted to the Department of Buildings in 1929 for construction of the Empire State Building. Completion of the iconic building in 1931 capped a mad race to build the tallest skyscrape
Open House New York — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
DORIS is pleased to participate in Open House New York again this year. We will be welcoming visitors to our headquarters in the beaux-arts Surrogate’s Courthouse at 31 Chambers Street, and we are also opening the doors to our storage and research facility at Industry City, Brooklyn.
Documenting Indigenous Peoples — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
In 1624, the sailing vessel Nieuw Nederland, sponsored by the Dutch West India Company, arrived at what is now Governor’s Island. The ship brought colonists who established a fur-trading post. In 1625, the settlers moved to what is now lower Manhattan along with an official akin to a sherif
Moses v. Tweed — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
In 1979, the Municipal Archives learned that 23 Park Row, its home for the previous decade, had been sold and would have to be vacated—pronto. Although space in the Surrogate’s Courthouse at 31 Chambers Street had been secured for the Department of Records and Information Services, including the Arc
Civil War Records, Orders for Relief of Soldier’s Families — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
On April 29, 1864, under “Ordinance of the Common Council,” Mrs. Mary Connell, mother of William Connell, a soldier in the 39th Regiment of Company F, was entitled to receive one dollar and fifty cents, weekly, until otherwise ordered. Mrs. Connell resided at 121 Mulberry Street, rear, 3rd floor, in
Enjoying and Researching City Parks — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
As summer 2024 draws to a conclusion, many New Yorkers will spend time in parks and park facilities throughout the city. Located on more than 30,000 acres of land—14 percent of the city—and comprising beaches, gardens, athletic fields, playgrounds, public pools, golf courses and historic house museu
Herman Melville’s New York — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
The name Herman Melville may conjure visions of adventures on the high seas, the “watery part of the world” in the author’s parlance, but Melville was very much a New Yorker for most of his life. He was born Herman Melvill in 1819 in a rooming house at 6 Pearl Street, the third of eight children. Th
WNYC celebrates — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
July 8, 2024, marked the 100th anniversary of municipal broadcasting for the City of New York. On September 9th, from 7-9pm, WNYC will celebrate with a live radio broadcast from SummerStage in Central Park . Hosted by Brian Lehrer, the event will include beloved voices from WNYC and a lineup of l
Labor Day, 1968 — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
For the Record readers are invited to take a virtual trip back to September 2, 1968, when New York Police Department photographers filmed the Labor Day parade. Nearly 100 floats with an eclectic array of unionized workers, including stage-hands, burlesque dancers, and a llama (union affiliation unc
The Handschu Collection — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
The Municipal Archives recently completed processing a significant portion of the New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records. Also known as the “Handschu” collection, the material totals 560 cubic feet and dates from 1930 to 2013. This exceptional material has already supported dozens of r
Bring the $5M with you. Two Eagles and a Post Office — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Eighty-six years ago today, on August 16, 1938, The New York Times reported “Demolition Begun at Old Post Office.” What brought us to this seemingly benign newspaper story?
Notes from Eleanor — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Defying archival practices, at some point the Department of Records and Information Services created a “Special Collection” which consists of historical City government records separated from a variety of other collections. Organized alphabetically, the trove is a hodge-podge of important documents
Manhattan Building Plans – Project Update — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
In 2018, with support from the New York State Library Conservation/Preservation Program, the Municipal Archives commenced a project to preserve and re-house approximately 100,000 architectural drawings and reproductions of buildings in lower Manhattan. Dating from 1866 through the 1970s, the plans c
“A True and Perfect Inventory” - The Municipal Archives Collection of 18th and 19th-century Estate Records, Part Two — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Last week, For the Record reviewed Estate Inventories and demonstrated how documents in the collection offer unique insights into Manhattan life from the era of George Washington’s presidency through the runup to the Civil War. Remarkably rich with detail, these records simultaneously rem
“A True and Perfect Inventory”: the Municipal Archives Collection of 18th and 19th-century Estate Records, Part One — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Lists of people’s possessions when they died—pretty dry stuff, right? Well, the files in the Municipal Archives’ collection of estate assets from 1786 to 1859 may be brittle with age, but the glimpses they offer into Manhattan life from the era of George Washington’s presidency through the runup to
Fireworks — NYC Department of Records & Information Services
Fireworks have been a part of American celebrations for centuries. Independence Day festivities traditionally include pyrotechnic displays. Many communities in the metropolitan New York area have fireworks at their annual 4th of July observances. The largest, and reputed to be the most spectacular,