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.