How to find history of our old buildings
I am closing this week on a co-op in Carroll Gardens in a 4 story brick tenement building. The building has a great deal of history and had a fatal fire in the early 1900’s – in fact, it used to be a five story brick tenement! I would love to look into the past…
I am closing this week on a co-op in Carroll Gardens in a 4 story brick tenement building. The building has a great deal of history and had a fatal fire in the early 1900’s – in fact, it used to be a five story brick tenement!
I would love to look into the past stories that may lurk in the halls and find out more about the history of the building, but have no idea how to go about it.
Any suggestions?
I found the Brooklyn Daily Eagle database to be amazing. Type in your address and you won’t believe what comes up! Thanks to the BDE for making this a free feature for homeowners.
The Weeksville Heritage Center located at 1698 Bergen St. bt. buffalo and rochester aves. is have a free workshop this saturday from 10am – 12. Teaching home owners how to research their homes history. We are surving refreshments and its FREE. Columbia Grad. from the school of arch. is teaching the workshop. Come check it out!
I took at class at the Municipal Art Society in 2002 called “Urban Genealogy: An Introduction to Researching Buildings in New York City”. I believe this course is taught periodically. The teacher was Anthony Robins. The class was very useful in terms of researching an individual building – detailing the numerous sources of info available.
The Historical Society is closing again?! Didn’t it open just in the past year or two after closing for a major renovation? Phase 2 maybe?
The Brooklyn Historical Society has Brooklyn City Directories which should list the residents at your address. It would be especially interesting, although sad, to compare the listings in the years before and after the fatal fire. Unfortunately, the library is scheduled tobe closed for renovation until early summer.
BTW, I did this for my house so long ago that it was still called the Long Island Historical Society (Changed in the late ’70s IIRC because of the confusion it caused among residents of the ‘burbs).
You can go to the Department of Buildings downtown, and ask to see the folder for your building. You’ll need the block and lot number, you fill out a form, and you need a piece of ID to leave at the desk when they give you the folder. If you don’t know your block and lot number, use the link on this site to ACRIS, and you can enter your address, and it will give you the number.
If any work was done in your building for which permits were needed, your folder will have them, and also the blueprints and other plans for the building. My folder had the original blueprints from 1899 (a fantastic find!)as well as letters from the city to the owner in 1923 when the house was an illegal bording house telling them to cease and desist. I also had plans from when the sprinkler system was installed, and misc. letters and documents. For a small fee, you can have your blueprints copied – full size.
Downstairs on the main floor to your left as you walk in the building, they have all of the hand written entries of deeds and mortgages going back to when your house was built up till they computerized the system in the 80’s. It can be tedious, but you can trace your house’s owners back to the original owner. I love the older entries from the turn of the century – all in beautiful scripted hand. You need the block and lot for this too, so make sure you have that. You can also get it from the computers on site, but they are always crowded.
The place is a zoo, but it certainly is interesting.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/faqs/research_resource.shtml
there are many sources I’m sure you’ll get a few links to City Archives. You might be able to find the report of the fire if you know the date at the Brooklyn Public Library Archives of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” at this link http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle/index.htm.