How to Locate a Specific Building

Know the Name of the Building?

Currently you cannot search for an exact street address and pull up a photograph for the vast majority of buildings. This collection only contains information at the block level.
Some photographs have been lost and you may not be able to locate the one you are looking for. This collection was publicly available at City Hall and used as a research tool by the public for decades. Over that time, many photographs have gone missing, including entire sections of some neighborhoods. (see the list of known missing sections).

Using the City Map page of this website, locate your district on the map, click it and follow the link to the appropriate District Map page.
Zoom into the District Map to locate the block you are looking for. Make note of the number that appears on your block.
Find and click the link to your Block Folder number on the side of the page.
On the Block Folder page, zoom and pan around the image to locate the building you are looking for.

Identify the closest cross-streets to the building you are trying to locate
Visit the Search By Cross-Street page
Begin typing the name of one street in each box and select the appropriate suggested names
This search will yield between 3 or 4 block folders. Use the description of each folder to identify the ones most likely to contain the building you are looking for.
On the Block Folder page, zoom and pan around the image to locate the building you are looking for.

if you would like to own a high-resolution, digital version of a specific building image, please fill out the form at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx