The Photography Collection in the Municipal Archives contains more than 4 million images, the earliest dating from 1857.  Taken by New York City agency photographers, the images range from sweeping panoramas of the City, crime-scene photos, pictures of every building in the City from the 1940s and again in the 1980s,  and images documenting City workers  - from past mayors to street sweepers and bridge builders.  Nearly one million images are available in the online gallery, with more added on a regular basis.

To conduct research using the photographs in our collections, contact us or visit us in person.

To order photographic prints of our historic images, visit the Order page.