By Jen Carlson
from Gothamist
The New York City Municipal Archives has gone digital, expanding their online archives—starting today you can access 870,000 (and counting) of their old photographs, which date back to the mid-1800s. The online feature (which took them four years to get together) also provides free and open research access to their holdings, which not only include photographs, but maps, motion-pictures and audio recordings, as well. This is the first time their offerings are available online, and one and all are welcome to rummage through them... nearly one million images (of their 2.2 million) showing New York City throughout the years as seen by municipal workers, the NYPD, the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, and people like Eugene de Salignac, the photographer for the New York City Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures from 1903 to 1934 (many of his iconic photos from this time have been seen before).
Click here to go directly to the NYC Department of Records site.