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Guide to Researching the Village

GVSHP offers assistance to researchers looking for information about the history and architecture of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Please call Sam Moskowitz at (212) 475-9585 ext. 39 or email.

GVSHP’s library and archive contains many resources about Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, designation reports for Village historic districts, as well as building research collected for the South Village and East Village. Learn more about our publically accessible library and archives

Historic Building Research

If you are looking for more information on a building or area that is located within a New York City Historic District, you may be able to find the information you are looking for on-line. To determine if the building or area is a New York City Landmark or part of a designated Historic District, you can access maps of historic districts in the Village. If the building/area is a landmark and in the Village, you can read the designation report here. For areas outside of the Village, you can view historic district maps at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. For landmark buildings outside the Village, you can access the designation report through the Neighborhood Preservation Center’s online database.

Other Historic Research

We suggest you also look into these other New York City institutions which contain photographs, vital records, and other historic information.

The LaGuardia and Wagner Archive, housed at LaGuardia College, includes the papers of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and has an online collection of images of NYC public housing projects and the buildings demolished to build the projects, as well as streets that the city once considered for demolition and redevelopment but may be still intact.

The Library of Congress has an extensive collection of historic photos and images online. It is best to search by either building name or the name of the street.

The Municipal Archives holds New York City vital records (census, birth, marriage, NYC directories), block and lot files (history of individual buildings in Manhattan), and tax and additional photos.

Some of the Museum of the City of New York’s photograph collection is available online. However, the majority of the photos and other items within the museum’s collection need to be researched by calling or emailing a request to the Museum's Department of Collection's Access.

The New York Public Library has an extensive on-line collection of historic photos and maps. The research libraries also have extensive collections, although you will have to visit. The Humanities and Social Sciences Library (main branch) contains the map library and archives and manuscripts collection. Other collections are held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Science, Industry and Business Library; and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

The New-York Historical Society has a collection of photographs, but you must make an appointment with their prints and photographs division to view them.

The Real Property Records Office at 66 John Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10038, contains deed conveyance records of properties dating from the 1600s through circa 1960.

When looking for information about New York City properties, you will need to access block and lot numbers. These can be found on the Department of Buildings website.

Newspapers

The New York Times is entirely online and can be a great source of historic information. ProQuest is available at some New York Public Library branch locations. The New-York Historical Society also has an extremely comprehensive newspaper collection available.

GVSHP offers an array of historic preservation and research resources.

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