What was there in 1918? (New York, York: apartment, landlord, tax)

[gjean511]

Does anyone know, or how can I find out what sort of building if any was located at 305 East 71 St. in Manhattan in the years 1916 -1918?

[RC1981]

I'm pretty sure most of those types of documents should be in the local library and most of them are a matter of public record so there's probably somebody there who knows where to dig them out and can get them for you or you might have to make a special appointment.

Better yet you could ask your landlord/property management company when the building was built. Going by Google Street Views I'm not really sure, it doesn't look to be that old so there was probably something else there before. It was most likely another residential building.

What has piqued your curiosity about this, if you don't mind my asking?

EDIT: Just found a couple of documents that might help you out, check it: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/download...tSide_Vol1.pdf and http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/download...tSide_Vol2.pdf Might have the information you're looking for.

[Airborneguy]

Check this out, it's a catalog of photos of almost every single building in NYC from the 1930's.

NYC Department of Records - Tax Photographs

Now I know this isn't 1918, but the photo may reveal a building that's obviously older than the 1930's. Definitely worth checking out. I also believe on that site you will be able to find tax records for address.

[nyctc7]

The document RC1981 referenced is a great document, fantastic really, unfortunately the historic district they describe doesn't extend to where 305 is.

The present low-rise apartment building on that spot is now known as 303 E 71st St. The next building is 311 which suggests that there was perhaps more than one building on the site of the present 303 (such as "305").

If the online records don't go back far enough, which appears to be the case here, then it is time for a trip to wherever they keep the records. (Of course, if it's a famous building, a google search of the address might reveal good info.)

First there is the Certificate of Occupancy:

Department of Buildings

In the bottom left under "Buildings Information", fill in the info and submit. On the next page if you click on "View Certificates of Occupancy" you will see it only goes back to 1947, which is the present building, so that doesn't help with what was there in 1918. I've never visited the Dept. of Buildings so I don't know what kind of info they have publicly available at their offices. But from its name it would seem like a good place to start.


The online property records is also a useful website:

ACRIS: Online City Register

Click on "Begin using ARCIS"
Click "Find Addresses and Parcels"
Select Manhattan from the drop down menu
Put 303 0r 305 in the street number box (either search reveals the same documents)
Put E 71 ST in the street name box
Click "Find BBL"
Click "Document Search by BBL"
Click "Search"

ARCIS only goes back to 1966, so again that doesn't really help here. You'd have to visit the City Register to go back further. Now this often won't tell you the type of building, just who owned it, but other documents that have been recorded on the property can give clues to what was there.

[Kefir King]

Lots and lots of old VERY thorough maps at the Museum of the City of New York.