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New York City (NYC) Research Guide

Guide to researching New York City buildings, neighborhoods, history, and data.

Architectural Drawings

  • If a building is designed by a well-known architect, try searching Books & More, the library catalog, for books on the architect or architectural firm. 
  • If the architect or firm has a website, drawings and illustrations can sometime be found there. 
  • If a building is architecturally notable, search Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals for articles about the building. (Link below.)
  • NYC DOB keeps physical floor plans for some buildings. (Link below.)

Web-based Databases

Books on NYC Architecture