Kenneth Cobb
The S.S. United States’ Final Voyage
Kelli O'Toole & Caleb Simone
World Digital Preservation Day: Save Our Stories
NYC Municipal Archives
A Few of Our Favorite Things, part 2
NYC Municipal Archives
Ask An Archivist - The Answers
NYC Municipal Archives
Ask An Archivist, Celebrating American Archives ...

The S.S. United States’ Final Voyage

Despite last minute attempts to save her, the luxury superliner S.S. United States began her final voyage on November 9, 2026, as she was towed from Mobile Bay, Alabama into the Gulf. Weather permitting, on November 12, 2026, she will be sunk 22 nautical miles from Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Environmental remediation was recently completed in Mobile, and some parts of the ship were salvaged for a planned museum (including its funnels and propellers). Its last journey will end 180 feet beneath the sea where the great liner will become the world’s largest artificial reef. When the plans were first released in 2025, news media marked the solemn occasion: “The S.S. United States Is Going Down for Good,” read the front-page headline in The New York Times on Friday, February 21, 2025.

The S.S. United States and the S.S. America, New York harbor, April 7, 1963. Department of Marine and Aviation Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

In a striking contrast, more than seventy years ago, the S.S. United States made the front page of the Times on a decidedly happier occasion: “Six Hour Welcome Greets New Liner on First Trip Here.” (June 24, 1952.)  The New York Daily News story that day trumpeted “The Queenly U.S. Gets N.Y.’s Bow.” In their coverage of the event, another of New York’s numerous newspapers, the Daily Mirror, described the scene: “The nation’s new queen of the seas, the superliner United States, yesterday gingerly threaded her way through a harbor clogged with hundreds of shrilling small craft and, under a canopy of helicopters, blimps and planes, majestically eased her white-and-ebony bulk up against her pier after the most tremendous welcome ever accorded a vessel here.”

Menu cover for luncheon aboard the S.S. United States, Pier 86, New York City, August 20, 1952, in honor of the Mayor’s Reception Committee, to commemorate its outstanding performance on the occasion of the arrival of the S.S. United States, in New York Harbor, July 15, 1952. Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

1952 Sailing Schedule, S.S. United States, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Daily News story reported that the ship’s Captain, Commodore Harry Manning, speculated that on her upcoming first transatlantic voyage, his new command might make a bid for the transatlantic speed record. As it happened, Manning’s prediction proved exactly correct. On its return from Southampton, England to New York, the giant superliner did indeed break the speed record, and on July 18, 1952, New York City went all-out to celebrate the achievement with a ticker-tape parade.

To research the story of the American superliner and the City’s welcoming event, researchers can turn to Municipal Archives collections. The Mayor Impellitteri records, and the files of the Mayor’s Reception Committee, then under the direction of City Greeter Grover Whelan, are an especially rich resource. In addition, the Department of Ports and Trades photograph collection provides unique visual documentation.

Spectators awaiting arrival of the S. S. United States, Pier 86, United States Line, Hudson River, June 23, 1952. Department of Marine and Aviation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

By the early 1950s, Whalen had perfected the art of staging a ticker-tape parade. He organized thirty-three parades in just three years from 1949 through 1952. Researchers reviewing collection contents will quickly see that no detail was too small for Whalen and his staff as they planned for the ticker-tape parade, City Hall reception, and luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria Starlight Roof.

S. S. United States docking at Pier 86, Hudson River, July 15, 1952. U. S. Army photograph, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Pier 86, United States Line, Hudson River, June 23, 1952. Department of Marine and Aviation photograph collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Although less voluminous, the subject file for the reception in Mayor Impellitteri’s records also contains informative items. Among them are a transcript of the Mayor’s remarks at the City Hall reception. Printed in a giant font, suitable to be read from a lectern, Impellitteri’s speech praised Commodore Harry Manning, Captain of the ship: “That the United States [ship] deserves all the praise and admiration she has received—both here and abroad—goes without saying. But I submit that there is a human factor within the greatness of the ship which is equally deserving of tribute. A ship, after all, no matter how perfect in mechanical detail is nothing without her caption and crew. It is in recognition of that fact that we gather here today to honor Commodore Harry Manning, Captain of the S.S. United States, and through him, the 1,000-man team which make up his crew.”

The Habitual Hero

Time magazine cover, June 23, 1952. Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Mayor Impellitteri continued on to say that this was not Captain Manning’s first time in a ticker-tape parade. Grover Whalen’s very capable assistant Gertrude Lyons prepared a memo with biographical information about Manning for the Mayor’s speech-writers. Her memo detailed an incident in 1929 when Manning, then the first officer on the ship “America,” came upon an Italian freighter sinking in the Atlantic. Manning volunteered to take a lifeboat with seven men across a quarter-mile of raging sea to rescue the half-frozen Italian crewmen. Manning’s action saved 32 men, and upon his return to New York, the City gave him a hero’s welcome with a ticker-tape parade. As Ms. Lyons wrote, “This is but one instance which led to Commodore Manning being referred to as the ‘habitual hero’.”

Commodore Harry Manning and Chief Engineer William Kaiser, S. S. United States, ticker-tape parade, Broadway, July 18, 1952. Mayor’s Reception Committee Photograph, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Menu, luncheon in honor of the Master, Officers and Crew of the S. S. United States, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, July 18, 1952. Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Mayor included the rescue story in his speech, but omitted another significant event detailed in Lyons’ memo. She explained how in 1937 Manning had been on leave from his ship to serve as navigator for Amelia Earhart on her proposed around the world flight. “In Honolulu, the plane skidded on a take-off and cracked up. No one was hurt, but Manning had to return to his ship before the plane could be repaired and the flight resumed without him. This was the flight on which Amelia Earhart lost her life.”

The Reception Committee folders also include copies of two short documents with “Suggested Remarks for Commodore Manning at City Hall” scrawled on the top. “Just a few thoughts for consideration,” Whalen wrote. No detail too small!

Mayor Vincent Impellitteri presents Proclamation to Commander Harry Manning, Captain, S. S. United States, City Hall, July 18, 1952, Mayor’s Reception Committee Photograph, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Sleek as a Shark

Reading Manning’s biography, it is perhaps not surprising that Time magazine featured him on the cover of their June 23, 1952, issue; a copy is in the Whalen collection. In ten lavishly illustrated pages the news magazine told the full story of America’s new “Luxury Liner.” As described in the article, “The superliner is the dreamboat of William Francis Gibbs, 65, crack naval architect and famed designer of World War II’s Liberty ships. Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. made it come true.”

The story explained how Congress appropriated $42 million of the total $79 million cost of the ship not only to enhance the country’s prestige, but also to bolster its military readiness. During wartime, the ship’s 241,000-horse-power steam engines could move 14,000 troops, with equipment, halfway around the world, nonstop, without refueling. “For all her size, the hull is sleek as a shark to help her outrun submarines.”

Brochure cover, S.S. United States, July 1952, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brochure interior, S.S. United States, July 1952, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brochure interior, S.S. United States, July 1952, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

During peacetime, the ship could transport 2,000 passengers and 1,000 crew in air-conditioned comfort, the first ocean liner with that amenity. Federal requirements necessary for the potential naval use of the vessel created challenges for interior designers Dorothy Marckwald and Anne Urquart. Using 100% fireproof materials, their interiors were hailed as a masterpiece of what is now called “mid-century modern.”

The S.S. United States went on to cross the Atlantic 800 times, but the 1952 Time story correctly foresaw the downward trajectory of transatlantic travel by ocean liner. “All liners are waging a losing battle against the airlines. Five years ago, only 30% of transatlantic travel was by air. This year it will reach about 40%.”

S.S. United States, New York Harbor, July 15, 1952. The liner’s remarkable speed during the transatlantic journey peeled the paint from its hull. Mayor’s Reception Committee Photograph, Grover Whalen Papers, NYC Municipal Archives.

In 1969, the United States Lines took their flagship vessel out of service and moored it in Norfolk, Virginia. It later berthed at Philadelphia until its final voyage that began last week. The  SS United States Conservancy, a non-profit, bought the vessel in 2011. The Conservancy is headed by Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of the ship’s designer William Francis Gibbs. Having failed to find a permanent home for the liner, the Conservancy agreed to the planned sinking of the ship to serve as a coral reef. The Conservancy is now planning a land-based S.S. United States museum.

It is unlikely that any of the thousands of spectators at the parade for Commodore Manning and the crew of the S.S. United States in 1952 gave much thought to the fate of the great liner when it reached the end of its useful life. But if they had, perhaps they would like the idea of its new role as habitat for sea creatures.

For more on the sinking of the S.S. United States:

World Digital Preservation Day: Save Our Stories

World Digital Preservation Day | November 5, 2026

The New York City Municipal Archives preserves centuries of government records documenting the people, places, and events that have shaped the city. Records like birth and death certificates, court proceedings, photographs, and government correspondence offer invaluable glimpses into the lives of New Yorkers across generations.

While the records we preserve weave a dynamic fabric of city history, the records we don’t save also tell meaningful stories.

Government records are created for specific purposes; they are shaped by the laws, priorities, and practices of their time. They are preserved for specific purposes as well. The subjects of these records filter through ever-evolving record creation, records management, and records appraisal practices before being accessioned into the Municipal Archives. Some New Yorkers feature prominently throughout government records, while others are documented only briefly or indirectly. Others are absent altogether.

For World Digital Preservation Day, we’re looking at how the records we preserve today shape what and how future New Yorkers will learn about their city. This year’s theme, Save Our Stories: Our Digital Heritage in Danger, is especially topical as record making and keeping practices become more digitally focused.

The Records that Were Created

Birth certificate for Mary Sallade, born January 3 1866 in Brooklyn. The record documents her parents, their birthplaces and her father’s occupation, illustrating the personal and family information persevered in historical vital records. New York City Municipal Archives, Historical Vital Records, Brooklyn Birth Certification number 1 1866, View the Historical Vital Records collection.

The Municipal Archives’ Historical Vital Records collection provides online access to approximately 11 million digitized birth, marriage, and death records. For family historians, a single certificate can establish a relationship, identify an ancestor, or place a family in a particular neighborhood at a particular time.

These records also tell larger stories about the history of government recordkeeping and the subjects of government records. As registration requirements and administrative processes changed over time, the information collected in vital records and the ability to access those records changed as well. The evolution of this data reflects the interdependent relationship between city government, the historical process, and collective memory. Not every New Yorker’s birth, marriage, or death was documented in the same way, and not every record survived. The variance in these records creates a variance in how we construct memory.

The link between memory and record-keeping processes is particularly important when researching the lives of enslaved New Yorkers.

For enslaved people, evidence of a birth, familial relationship, or change in legal status may survive in documents related to manumission, legal obligations, or financial decisions. But records created to satisfy administrative requirements differ in tone, data, and purpose than records created to preserve personal histories. Consequently, government records can feel limited and harsh in the window they provide into lived experience—especially in relation to records documenting the lives of enslaved people. When we understand those records as threads to be weaved into others, we can begin to acknowledge their contributions alongside their limitations.

Birth registration of Henry Lynes, born November 5, 1804, in Flatbush, to an enslaved woman held by Simeon Back. The entry was recorded on November 27, 1804, in the Town of Flatbush’s register of births of enslaved children. New York City Municipal Archives, Records of Slavery, ledger page 46, entry 1. View the digitized record.

Among the Municipal Archives’ holdings are records documenting slavery in New York City from 1660 to 1838, including birth records, manumission certificates, and court minutes. Created within institutions that upheld slavery, these documents often treated enslaved people as property. They also contain names, dates, family relationships, and other details that can help researchers reconstruct individual lives.

Through the Transcribing Records of Slavery project, volunteers use FromThePage to transcribe handwritten documents and make their contents searchable.

A reference to a child’s birth, a parent’s name, or an individual’s manumission may provide an important connection for someone tracing a family history. Transcription makes it possible to identify this information within documents that might otherwise be difficult to search. It can also help researchers follow a name or relationship across multiple records. One such record documents the birth of Henry Lynes in Flatbush on November 5, 1804. His name survives in a registration submitted by Simeon Back, who identified himself as the child’s enslaver. Although created within a system that treated people as property, the document preserves evidence of Henry’s birth more than two centuries later.

The work requires care in interpreting the original language. Names may be incomplete, terminology unfamiliar, and descriptions shaped by the prejudices of the institutions that created the records. Making these documents searchable must go hand in hand with preserving the original evidence and providing the context needed to understand it.

The original documents are held by the Municipal Archives, but the volunteer transcriptions exist on a digital platform. Their long-term value depends on retaining both the text and its relationship to the source documents so researchers can compare the two. Establishing a process to preserve these transcriptions independently of the platform is an important next step.

The Transcribing Records of Slavery project on FromThePage, showing a digitized image from a ledger alongside a volunteer transcription and structured data documenting the births of enslaved children of New Utrecht, Brooklyn, in 1799.  New York City Municipal Archives, Records of Slavery. View the project on FromThePage

The Records We Are Creating Now

The records of New York City government look very different today. Correspondence, policy decisions, reports, photographs, databases, and administrative records are increasingly created and maintained electronically, often without a paper equivalent.

These born-digital records will one day provide evidence of how government decisions were made, how public resources were used, and how policies affected New Yorkers. But preserving them presents challenges that begin long before they reach the Archives.

Born-digital government records organized by record series in the New York City Municipal Archives Digital Preservation System. The collection includes official publications, meeting files, and reports and studies, illustrating how archival arrangement and descriptive information help preserve the context of government records. New York City Municipal Archives, Accessions LD-1996 and LD-1854.

A collection transferred from a City agency may contain millions of files, complicated folder structures, and formats that require specialized software. Before these materials can enter a long-term preservation system, staff need to establish what was transferred, whether the files are intact, and whether the information about their origins has survived.

Sometimes the problem is not that a file is missing, but that something about it has changed. Moving records between storage systems can alter file modification dates, for example. Staff must then determine whether those dates reflect changes to the original records or changes introduced during the transfer. That can involve reviewing technical logs, comparing file information, and documenting the results.

A folder structure may reveal how a government office organized its work. An email attachment may provide context for a decision. A file’s original date can help establish when a record was created or used. Losing these details can make a surviving document much harder to interpret.

A born-digital government record displayed in the Municipal Archives’ digital preservation system. The record’s descriptive metadata, access settings, and preservation history help archivists manage digital records and maintain information about their origins. New York City Municipal Archives.

This work involves staff across the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), from archivists and records managers to the technical teams responsible for maintaining digital preservation systems. The Digital Programs Unit develops and maintains the workflows and systems supporting digitization, digital preservation, and access.

The Archives manages hundreds of terabytes of digital material, from reproductions of historical collections to records created entirely electronically. As that volume grows, staff must plan for how records will be transferred, maintained, and made accessible over time.

How City agencies organize their records, what metadata they retain, and whether files can be exported without losing their relationships can determine what the Archives is ultimately able to preserve. These decisions are often made years before records are transferred.

What Future New Yorkers Will Find

We know from the records in our collections how much can be lost when information is never recorded or when records fail to survive. Some documents were preserved because institutions considered them important enough to keep upon creation.

As more of New York City’s government work takes place electronically, the Archives faces a different set of challenges. The records exist, often in enormous quantities, but keeping them accessible and understandable for decades to come requires planning, technical expertise, and continued investment.

What survives from this period of the city’s history will depend, in part, on the decisions we make now.

A Few of Our Favorite Things, part 2

Today’s For the Record is another installment of a new series we are calling “These are a Few of Our Favorite Things.” The staff at the Department of Records has the lucky task of working directly with the historic materials held in the country’s largest archive, and every now and then they come upon a real gem. Usually, they snap a picture on their phone, maybe share with a colleague or two and then the image lingers in the cloud with all their other quick pics. “Our Favorite Things” aims to end that and share some of these little treasures with you. We hope to highlight some of our lesser-known collections and share the passion and dedication that our archivists and records professionals have as they work to preserve the history of New York City.

We hope you enjoy!

Patricia Glowinski

One of my favorite things about being an archivist at the NYC Municipal Archives is that there are no boring days on the job. I am surrounded by millions of stories documented and preserved in the records stewarded here. One of my favorite things about living in New York City is the people. Every New Yorker has a story. Dig a little deeper into these stories and you’ll find connections.

My favorite part of the New York City Historical Vital Records are the Maritime birth, death, and marriage records, 1901-1948. They document people who were born, married, or died at sea. Though there are very few of these records in the Archives, they are revealing.

REC0051_05_01_M-01: Lortel-Schweitzer Marriage Certificate, 1931. NYC Municipal Archives. Lucille was actually 30 in 1931. Like many actresses of the era, she was known to lie about her age.

On March 23, 1931, Lucille L. Wadler and Louis Schweitzer were married at sea aboard the S.S. Leviathan at Latitude 42-35N and Longitude 56-05W. I came across their marriage certificate when I was preparing the collection guide. When I searched for their names on the Internet, I found two incredible New Yorkers.

B-M-1901-0005342: Luciel Wadler Birth Certificate, 1901. NYC Municipal Archives. Lucille was born on December 16, 1900, but her birth was not registered until February 2nd, 1901. Not unusual for home births.

Their occupations are listed on their marriage certificate as “actress” and “motion picture business,” respectively. Lucille’s stage name was Lucille Lortel. Her Broadway debut was in 1925. She gave up acting in 1939 and founded a theatre in Connecticut and then took over another in Greenwich Village, the Theatre De Lys (now the Lucille Lortel Theatre) at 121 Christopher Street. Focusing on experimental theatre, the production of The Threepenny Opera was the first to win a Tony Award for an Off-Broadway production.

121 Christopher Street, ca. 1939. Dept of Finance Tax Photo Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Born in Russia, Louis came into money from his family’s paper company. Like myself, he was a lover of radio, and he purchased WBAI in 1957. If you’re a fan of local, listener-supported, news, art, and music radio, then you probably know WBAI. Louis also founded the Vera Foundation (now the Vera Institute of Justice) in 1961 to “end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people experiencing poverty.”

Depending on which location I work at (the Archives are stored in Manhattan or Brooklyn), I walk past the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the Village and the Vera Institute of Justice in Sunset Park on a regular basis. With just a simple dive into the archives, I feel more connected to the past and present city I live in.

121 Christopher Street. Department of Finance Property Card, NYC Municipal Archives.

121 Christopher Street. Department of Finance Property Card, NYC Municipal Archives.


Matthew Minor 

REC0044_01_02_067_040_014: NYPD Intelligence Records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Working in digitization, I see items from all sorts of collections; and at a place like the Municipal Archives, the variety is unbelievable. For the last several months, I've been working on the NYPD Intelligence records with our digitization technician, Raquel Phipps. For decades the City’s police kept tabs on all sorts of groups and individuals. The records include police paperwork, correspondence from federal agencies and other police departments, and even materials from the subject organizations themselves.

The folders from the mid-1960s show this diversity. Among the groups the NYPD was watching were American religious groups, such as the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, which held its Northeastern Regional Convention in the City in October 1963. While the group sounds like any of a number of Evangelical groups today, their convention materials promote the idea of “the whole gospel for the whole world” with a cover image of a giant Jesus knocking on the United Nations building like a door.

Inside the brochure, the introduction strikes a darker tone, saying that:

“WITHOUT A SHADOW of doubt, I believe that the world is set in a pattern that will bring about the close of this dispensation... You and I are in the generation that is seeing the culmination of all prophecies...because enough energy has been harnessed, which when released could burn up the world. Our main line churches have strayed so far from God they are vulnerable. Bible standards have been by-passed for a liberal, social, and political status.”

While groups like this were anticipating the end of the world, others were feeling optimistic. In 1964, the Esperanto Information Center sent Mayor Wagner a letter praising him for promoting “peace, harmony, and happiness,” and suggesting that adopting Esperanto as an international language could be in an important step towards those ideals. The author of the letter, Vojslav Pytloun, thanked Wagner for not treating this idea “lightly,” as perhaps many others had.

REC0044_01_02_075_005_002: NYPD Intelligence Records, NYC Municipal Archives.

Then as now, everyone had ideas about the future of the world, and somehow those ideas and the people who support them always find their way through New York.

Ask An Archivist - The Answers

October 14th was Ask An Archivist Day, and our staff answered many queries. Here are some of the most interesting exchanges.

Question 1: Do the Municipal Archives still hold the original Dutch minutes for that session, or only later translations? 

Answer (Rossy): Yes, we hold the original Dutch records, and you can view them in our digital collections’ portal!

MSS0040_1_1_01: The first ordinance Director General Petrus Stuyvesant issued a week after his May 1647 arrival was a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol on Sunday. Page 1 of the Ordinances of New Amsterdam, 1647-1661. Original Dutch records of New Amsterdam, NYC Municipal Archives.

Question 2: Do the Municipal Archives hold anything on the 1838 Halls of Justice, the Tombs, built over the filled-in Collect Pond? 

Answer (Michael): We have a glass lantern slide of the Tombs from the DeGregario collection. You can see how it got its name; it really looks like an Egyptian temple or tomb. The name stuck through all the later iterations even though they did not look like a tomb.

MSS0001_01_51: The Tombs [before 1897], DeGregario Lantern Slide collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

(Amy): We do not have any building plans for the first iteration of “the Tombs,” only plans for the 1941 Manhattan New York City Criminal Courts Building and City Prison, a later prison building also often referred to as “the Tombs.”

REC0074_0167_001_0033: New Criminal Courts Building and City Prison, Fifth Floor Plan, ca. 1941. Manhattan Building Plans collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

(Michael): The four buildings, known as “The Tombs” were: 

  • 1838–1902, New York City Halls of Justice and House of Detention 

  • 1902–1941, City Prison 

  • 1941–2023, Manhattan House of Detention (Manhattan Detention Complex South Tower after 1983) 

  • 1990–2023, Manhattan Detention Complex North Tower 

We also have photos of the 2nd one, which was demoed in 1941. 

MSS0041_0056: “The Tombs” and “the Bridge of Sighs,” ca. 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Question 3: How are the NYC Municipal Library & Archives’ digital collections curated, created, and maintained? 

Answer (Matt): I can answer the creation part. We have a really wide range of materials, from books and volumes, to oversize maps, to photographs and A/V materials. This means that we employ different digitization methods for varied objects. Many of our collections, especially the most fragile ones, are photographed with overhead digital cameras specially made for this purpose. These cameras cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars and allow us to maintain the highest archival standards. For other items, we have other purpose-built devices, such as oversize scanners for maps and drawings, a microfilm scanner, a book scanner, and various setups for digitizing A/V. Archival digitization is often delicate and time-consuming, and requires a lot of troubleshooting, as well as training and experience with different materials, equipment, and software. And that’s just the capture part. After that, we do extensive quality control, and handling the digital files is a whole other matter.

Conservation and digital programs staff moving the mounted Greensward Plan into position.

Question 4: Would your archives have records of police arrests and case files of murders? I am researching two murders, one in Manhattan in 1904 and one in the Bronx in 1907. The police records and court case files would be something I would like to research further, but not sure these files would exist, but if they do exist, where would I be able to access them? 

Answer (Katie): Our court records are very extensive, with the most extensive being for Manhattan. It would help to know what court, if any, the accused, appeared before. Historical newspapers could help with that. We have a variety of court indexes available on microfilm in our Manhattan reading room. We have indictment indexes for Manhattan available digitally here: https://nycrecords.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/SO_80f4fdbf-d52f-4f01-ad57-02afcb64b032/ 

We do not have similar indexes for the other boroughs though. I would recommend emailing us with the details you have about the cases.

REC0059_010_1907-1908_A-K: New York County District Attorney record of cases,1907-1908, A-K. NYC Municipal Archives. 

(Rossy): We have magistrate court dockets for Manhattan and Bronx in this time period. If a Grand Jury voted to indict, we may also have indictment records for the Manhattan case. We do not have any Bronx District Attorney cases for these years. We also recommend checking the mayoral departmental correspondence with the courts as an additional resource since notable investigations are often mentioned there. 

Question 5: For families tracing Italian immigrant grandparents in Manhattan around 1900–1920, what's the best place to start in your collections? And any tips for when a surname shows up spelled three different ways by three different clerks? 

Answer (Ken): I have found the geographic birth index to be useful when searching families that have multiple name spellings. The trick is to know the family’s address—from census, or other vital records.

Births Reported in the City of New York, 1901-1903. NYC Municipal Archives.

(Sylvia): Italiangen.org is a good resource.  Also stevemorse.org allows for searching that includes first and last names that “start with” or “contain” delimiters. NYC Open Data is also a great way to search broadly on variations of names because you can download a specific data set (vital type/year) download spreadsheets of the indexed digitized records, and search name variations. https://data.cityofnewyork.us/browse?q=historical+vital+records&required=&sortBy=relevance&page=1&pageSize=20 

(Marcia): Before they start in our collections, they need to confirm that they were in Manhattan at the assumed time. To do that, check immigration records, the 1900 census is great, the 1915 NY State Census. Also, NY City Directories (NYPL.org). Then check germangenealogygroup.com (free) which allows you to search the GLOBAL SEARCH to search all databases. Then they can search for the vital records on the Historical Vital Records app online. 

Question 6: What’s one collection you wish more New Yorkers knew existed? 

Answer (Katie): I’d like to say the NYPD Intelligence records even though it’s very popular. Handschu in particular.

This is the finding aid: https://a860-collectionguides.nyc.gov/repositories/2/resources/82 

And an online exhibit from years ago: https://www.archives.nyc/unlikely-historians-1

Anniversary demonstration for Attica, September 13, 1972. Handschu Collection, NYC Municipal Archives. 

Ask An Archivist, Celebrating American Archives Month

October is American Archives Month, and October 14th is Ask An Archivist Day, promoted by the Society of American Archivists.  https://www2.archivists.org/initiatives/askanarchivist-day

Archivists employed by the Department of Records & Information Services perform a variety of tasks. They appraise New York City government records for historical or other significance; they transfer records designated as archival from the creating agency to the Municipal Archives; they catalog and describe the records; and they store them in appropriate conditions to ensure permanent preservation. All toward the goal of providing public access. The archivists regularly publish finding aids and collection guides and digitize selected materials to further facilitate access. Today, there are more than 11.3 million historical photographs, documents, maps, films, audio files, etc. digitized and available on the Archives’ Digital Collections site and through the Historical Vital Records Project. Most recently, the Archives processed and made available records of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. 

DORIS archivists have seen a lot, and on Ask An Archivist Day the public is invited to send questions to our social media accounts (@nycrecords on Facebook and X, @nycarchives on Instagram), which the archivists will try to answer. 

Also, save the date for Wednesday, October 21, when NYC Department of Records will celebrate Archives Week with a full day of programming at the historic Hall of Records! 

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/reflecting-on-nyc-history-a-community-forum-4859061/ 

Join us in person at 11am to learn about Neighborhood Stories, a unique storytelling initiative that gathers and permanently preserves oral history-style interviews with New York City residents, connecting local history with the records of City government maintained in the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library. Learn how the project began, how to get involved, and how your story can help preserve New York City history for future generations.

At 1:00 pm, our Lunch & Learn series brings a Zoom conversation with author Hugh Ryan and archivist Riah Lee Kinsey. The speakers will discuss their experiences conducting archival research at a range of institutions, with a particular focus on their work at the Municipal Archives and Library. 

At 3:00 pm we have an in-person cross-departmental panel discussion with DORIS staff on how AI is affecting Municipal Archives services.

At 6:00 pm is the opening of “Change Preservation” a new exhibit located in the first-floor alcove of 31 Chambers Street. Curated by architects Wes Hiatt and Violette de la Selle, the exhibition brings together the material of Changing Change, a research project shown in two chapters at Citygroup in 2024 and 2025 on how buildings in Manhattan's Lower East Side and Chinatown endure through constant alteration. 

And finally, at 7:00 pm our day’s events conclude with a live taping of Person Place Thing, with Randy Cohen and DORIS Commissioner Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz. 

Space is limited for these events please sign up in advance.

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/reflecting-on-nyc-history-a-community-forum-4859061/ 

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Department of Buildings, Manhattan Plans. NYC Municipal Archives.

Today’s For the Record kicks off a new series we are calling “These are a Few of Our Favorite Things.” The staff at the Department of Records has the lucky task of working directly with the historic materials held in the country’s largest archive, and every now and then they come upon a real gem. Usually, they snap a picture on their phone, maybe share with a colleague or two and then the image lingers in the cloud with all their other quick pics. “Our Favorite Things” aims to end that and share some of these little treasures with you. We hope to highlight some of our lesser-known collections and share the passion and dedication that our archivists and records professionals have as they work to preserve the history of New York City.

For our inaugural post, Cynthia Brenwall finds hidden art and messages where you might never imagine them to be.

We hope you enjoy!

Cynthia Brenwall: Unexpected Art and Hidden Messages in the Municipal Archives

During my tenure in the Municipal Archives, I have had the opportunity to see and work with, literally, thousands of bits of New York City history—the vast majority of piqued my interest in some way or another. I have worked with everything from vital records, architectural plans and the original drawings for the creation of Central Park, to seventeenth-century Dutch records, letters sent to mayors and giant ledgers from the Alms House. 

My favorite thing is to find a hidden bit of art or a secret message. It happens more often than one would expect! 

Department of Buildings Architectural Records 

This collection contains building plans that show evidence of frequent handling over the years. On two of the plans for construction of the American Express Building at 65 Broadway, created by the architectural firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker in 1916, a clever workman used their artistic talents to draw tiny hands as pointers. Are they just doodles or are they directing a plan-user to something important? 

Department of Buildings, Manhattan Plans. NYC Municipal Archives.

In another instance, I found a message on the plans for grillage work on a building located at the corner of Mercer Street and Washington Place dating from 1903. On the back of the drawing by the architect Henri Fouchaux reverse, a small message reads “There are Very cold-hearted people in the world,” indeed. 

Department of Buildings, Manhattan Plans. NYC Municipal Archives. 

Department of Parks Architectural Plans 

My first assignment at the Municipal Archives was to help conserve the Central Park plan collection. These include three of my favorite little works of art. On a plan for the ornamental iron work on the ceiling the Terrace Arcade, a small detail has been transformed into toothy-grinned smiley face, or perhaps it is the man in the moon!  

This detail of the ornamental ironwork on the ceiling of the Terrace Arcade includes the later addition of a mischievous grin from the left side of the plan. Department of Parks & Recreation collection, Central Park Plans, NYC Municipal Archives. 

On a plan for a large fountain to be located on the Mall, architect Jacob Wrey Mould went so far as to draw the rings of the tree that would be used in the wooden supports for the structure.  

Department of Parks & Recreation collection, Central Park Plans, NYC Municipal Archives. 

It was Mould again who designed the ornamental bird cages that once lined the northern part of the Mall. In this little rendering he shows the curb and base of the cages that can still be found in the park today. The note states that there is to be a “small curb to keep toes off the hedge,” to which he replies “Yes! Decidedly.” 

Department of Parks & Recreation collection, Central Park Plans, NYC Municipal Archives. 

Department of Parks & Recreation collection, Central Park Plans, NYC Municipal Archives. 

Brooklyn Street Opening Maps 

This small collection of 84 maps documents the opening of new streets in Brooklyn from the 1830s through the 1870s. They often detail property ownership, lay out parts of the street grid for the towns of Brooklyn, and occasionally include lovely bits of artistic embellishment. 

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.

Dr. Prennell’s “beautiful farm” in the town of New Utrecht shows a new church, a horse-drawn carriage and a steamboat for trips to New York. And finally, one of my absolute favorite things is the small pen and ink drawing of a dog on the back of a map showing the 44 lots that made up Mt. Prospect in the 8th Ward of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn street opening maps circa 1830 to 1870, NYC Municipal Archives.