A Wonderful Interactive Map Featuring Photos of Every Building in New York City Taken Between 1939-1941

Empire State Building Photo

Proud New Yorker Julian Boilen has put together a wonderful interactive map that displays photographs of every building within the five boroughs of New York City that were taken between the years 1939 and 1941 by the Works Progress Administration and the New York City Tax Department.

The physical photo collection is housed at the New York City Municipal Archives.

In 2018, the NYC Municipal Archives completed the digitization and tagging of these photos. This website places them on a map.

1940s NYC Financial
Financial District, Manhattan

1940s NYC Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

1940s NYC Bronx
The Bronx

1940s NYC Coney Island
Coney Island, Brooklyn

Garment
Garment District, Manhattan

1940s NYC Greenpoint
Greenpoint, Brooklyn

1940s NYC LES
Lower East Side, Manhattan

1940s NYC Newtown Creek Queens
Newtown Creek, Queens

1940s NYC Staten Island
Staten Island, New York

1940s NYC UWS
Upper West Side, Manhattan

via Paul Stamatiou

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.