What is OldNYC?
OldNYC puts historical photographs of New York City on a map. Each pin marks a spot where photos were taken, so you can click your street, your office or a favourite park and see what it looked like decades ago.
The images come from the New York Public Library's Milstein Collection, Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s to 1970s, and most were taken by Percy Loomis Sperr between the late 1920s and the early 1940s. The site was built by Dan Vanderkam, who placed the photos on the map, cropped them out of the original scans and used OCR to read the typed notes on their backs. Visitors can comment and help fix those transcriptions.
Main Features
- About 50,000 historical photos on a map of New York City
- Photos from the 1870s to the 1970s
- Click a pin to see every photo from that spot
- Typed notes from the backs of the photos
- Comments from people who know the area today
- Help improve the transcriptions
- Share photos you like
How to Get Started with OldNYC
- Open oldnyc.org.
- Zoom into a neighbourhood you know.
- Click a pin to open the photos taken there.
- Read the date and notes under each photo.
- Leave a comment about what is there now.
OldNYC Pricing
OldNYC is free. The New York Public Library keeps the copyright on many of the images, so check its terms before reusing them.
Who Should Use It?
- New Yorkers curious about their street
- History fans
- Visitors planning a trip to New York
- Photographers
- Family history researchers
OldNYC Alternatives
- TimeGuessr asks you to place historical photos in time and on the map.
- Random Street View drops you at a random Street View location somewhere on Earth.
- Notable People maps famous people by the places they were born.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OldNYC free?
Yes. OldNYC is free to browse.
Where do the OldNYC photos come from?
From the New York Public Library's Milstein Collection, Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s to 1970s.
Who took most of the photos?
Most are the work of Percy Loomis Sperr, who photographed the city from the late 1920s to the early 1940s.
Who built OldNYC?
Dan Vanderkam built it, with help from friends and the NYPL Labs team. He made OldSF for San Francisco first.
Can I help improve OldNYC?
Yes. You can comment on photos from your area and fix the transcribed text from the backs of the photos.