Village Preservation’s historic image archive began 30 years ago in 1996, with a donation from the New York Bound Bookshop of a few dozen iconic historic photos of great local and NYC landmarks from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Three decades and 75 collections later, Village Preservation’s Historic Image Archive has grown to nearly 5,700 images, spanning the 18th to the early 21st century, with an incredible array of photos of Greenwich Village, the East Village, NoHo, Lower Manhattan, and beloved landmarks across all five boroughs. 

Those collections consist of historic photos, postcards, and etchings of people and sites that have been critical to our city’s history and development; historic landmarks being documented for both early and more contemporary preservation efforts; deeply personal views of our city and our neighborhoods’ evolution over time taken by individuals; and what we believe to be the largest collection of crowdsourced images of the impact and aftermath of the September 11th attacks in Lower Manhattan. Within these archives you’ll find touching personal perspectives and family records; images of long lost landmarks; mysteries steeped in New York City history that took years to solve; the work of renowned photographers and average citizens. 

Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman will take you on a guided tour, showing you just some of the incredible highlights, and sharing with you some of the hidden stories behind the images in these collections. He’ll also let you know how you can add to the collection, and guide you to using the archive as a resource for your own research, or just some fun online exploration.