NYC Tax Photos: Explore Historic Images Online [Free Access!]
Ever wondered what your city looked like nearly a century ago, a time capsule meticulously crafted not for posterity, but for the cold, hard purpose of taxation? The photographic archive created in New York City between 1939 and 1941, a monumental effort to document every building in its five boroughs, offers an unprecedented glimpse into the past, revealing not just architectural details, but also the social and economic landscape of a bygone era.
Driven by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in collaboration with the New York City Tax Department, this ambitious project aimed to modernize tax assessments. Photographers meticulously captured frontal shots of buildings, often including multiple structures in a single frame. To ensure accurate identification, a signboard displaying the block number, lot number, and borough, along with an arrow pointing to the specific parcel, was prominently featured in each image. This meticulous approach transformed the assessment process, making it more efficient and reliable. The resulting collection of images, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, became a crucial tool for city planners, historians, and anyone interested in understanding the evolution of New York City.
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Project Name | NYC Tax Photo Project |
| Years Active | 1939-1941 |
| Participating Organizations | Works Progress Administration (WPA), New York City Tax Department, NYC Municipal Archives |
| Scope | Photographic documentation of every building in the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island) |
| Purpose | Modernizing property value assessments and improving the accuracy of tax records. |
| Number of Photos | Hundreds of thousands |
| Image Characteristics | Frontal shots of buildings, inclusion of multiple buildings per image, signboards indicating block number, lot number, and borough. |
| Digitization Completion | 2018 by NYC Municipal Archives |
| Accessibility | Online map with geotagged photos hosted by the NYC Municipal Archives. |
| Location of Physical Records | NYC Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, New York, NY 10007 |
| Accessing Images | Online via the NYC Municipal Archives website or in person at the archives. Tax photograph order forms can be requested by mail or picked up at the archives. Fees payable by check to NYC Department of Records. |
| Related Concepts | Taxation, property assessment, historical preservation, urban planning, archival research. |
| Authentic Website | NYC Municipal Archives |
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