Resources & Guidelines

Melrose Place Assignments
Have you forgotten what you’re researching?  See above!

Historical Report and Clio Entry
This is the assignment that will result in your mini-exhibit.  It’s in two parts and is self-managed, although I have offered a timeline so that you can meet the April 16 deadline successfully. The Higgins family report, Brooklyn Historical Society is a good example of a historical report, although this is a very advanced and lengthy one.  Here is an example of a great Clio entry.

Collaborative Timeline of Melrose 2017
Need a review of the chronology of Melrose, South Bronx, NYC, or U.S. history from the end of WWII to the present?  Last year’s class produced the timeline above.  Feel free to use it to guide you.

Displaced Urban Histories On-Line Exhibits 2017
You can find transcripts and recordings of the oral histories we collected last year, as well as some photographs, maps, analyses, and other items that may help you with your research.

Old NYC Photographs (from NYPL)
Navigate around this map to find photos from the New York Public Library that depict specific locations in New York City’s past.  You may luck out and find an old photo of the site you are researching!

Guide to Researching Buildings in NYC
This is a basic guide for doing research on NYC buildings. It is not comprehensive, nor is every building in NYC researchable using these tools. But it’s worth consulting as you pursue your place research.

Useful Maps:
There are tons of maps available to help with your research.  Here are three of them. 

• Data2go.nyc: Data2go.nyc is used by non-profits, policymakers, advocates, and the city itself to collect demographic, health, housing, and other data on different sections of the city
• New York City Landmarks: New York City Landmarks maps where every building or site that has been landmarked by the City of New York is located.  See if your site is listed.
• Brown Urban Transition Project: The Brown Urban Transition Project will help you see change over time in different cities (including New York) using the public census.  Full digital census information is only available through 1940, so this does not take us to the present.

See below for links from our NYPL librarian friend, Diane Dias De Fazio!  She used these in our training with her on 2/26.
For your reference, below are the items that we reviewed in class, including links to the Library catalog and digital collections for the maps and fire insurance atlases we viewed.

Online resources:

• Who Lived in a House Like This guide
• LHG neighborhood research guide
• LHG NYC photographs research guide
• NYCityMap → New York City’s GIS portal, links directly to Buildings Department page
• Map Warper → view digitized maps of areas of New York City across time
• Maps by Decade
• Old NYC.org → photographs from NYPL’s digital collections, mapped to the NYC street grid
• Digital Collections
  • Plan for New York City, 1969: the Bronx
• Neighborhood Preservation Center Landmarks Preservation Commission Report Database (two of the properties in the research area are NYC Landmarks; reports can provide context on neighborhood development, architectural styles, etc.)
• The site reviewed in class was: St. David’s Episcopal Church; 384 E 160th St, Bronx, NY 10451; Block 2406, Lot 16

The following items were pulled for in-class demonstration and review, pertaining particularly to that property (from Map Division):

• Atlas 49. Vol. 10, pt. 1, 1909. (digital collections # 1993371)
• Atlas 42.60. Vol. 10, 1891. (digital collections # 2001832)
• Map Div. (Sanborn Map Co. Insurance maps of N.Y.)  Atlas 49, New York (City), Bronx, v. 10 pt. 1, 1909
• http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b10451725~S1 (1957 map) Double Page Plate No. 13, Part of Section 9, Borough of the Bronx; vol. Volume One: South of 172nd Street [1957]
• Map Div. 77-1312  v. 1 1942 upd[ated]. 1957  and  Map Div. 77-1312 v. 1 (1942)
• Atlas of the city of New York : Borough of the Bronx … from the actual surveys and official plans / by George W. and Walter S. Bromley. (1911))
• Map Div.+++ (New York City) (Bromley, G.W., & Co. Atlas of Borough of the Bronx. 1921)
• Atlas of Borough of the Bronx, Sections 9 10 11 12 & 13 : from actual surveys and official plans / G.W. Bromley and Co. (1921) 

From our friends at Dreamyard, some more resources below!