Exploring 1940s New York City through Tax Photos

In 1940, the New York Tax Department and federal government’s Works Progress Administration spent upward of 3 years taking over 700,000 pictures of each building in America’s largest city. The photographs could show you where your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were born and raised. You could discover pictures of where they worked, the cars they drove—and even catch a glimpse of them crossing the street in the NYC Tax Photos collection, available on Ancestry^®.

What Is the NYC Tax Photo Collection?

Between 1939 and 1941, in partnership with the federal government’s Works Progress Administration (WPA), the city of New York and the New York State Tax Department gathered a collection of photos documenting every property in the city, across all five boroughs, taken by professional photographers and developed into high-quality prints.

These photographs were originally taken as a way of documenting the location, appearance, and condition of all of the taxable properties in the city. New York City  then used these records when assessing a property for tax purposes, especially if adjustments were needed for depreciation and damage that reduced the structure’s value. The WPA’s involvement was also to assist as an archivist. Through the federal government, these mundane tax photos became a living history of the streets where millions of Americans’ ancestors actually walked and drove.

The history these photos document is remarkable, especially for the exceptional time period they cover. New York City in the 1940s, the span this archive mostly covers, was a thriving metropolitan hub full of busy people. The first skyscrapers had been built, including the Empire State building, and many of the most iconic New York City buildings were already present, such as the Chrysler Building. Art Deco spires had gone up in the 20s and 30s, with jazz clubs, movie theaters, and cab stands seemingly everywhere. 

Looking at 1940s NYC tax photos is like looking through a window directly at the world your own ancestors lived in. Practically, every taxable structure in the city was photographed, although it seems to be an odd gap for tax-exempt properties such as churches. 

The archived photos are mainly a catalog for buildings—but every other random thing that happened also tended to be in the pictures. Glancing over these, you can see not only buildings, but also automobiles, people and their pets, billboards and other outdoor advertisements, business names and addresses, and a lot more. Little details like these don’t just make a place come alive; they can potentially reveal tiny details that may help you develop leads and discover new avenues for family research.

Searching the NYC Tax Photo Archive

Searching the NYC Tax Photo archive starts with loading some basic information about what you’re looking for into the search fields—the more detailed the better. You can search by block lots, or go ahead and search for old NYC photos by address if you know what you’re looking for.Searching the NYC Tax Photo archive

Get started by browsing the collection for broader views. If you’re looking for a specific address, it may help to refer to the 1940 or 1950 census to determine block numbers.

Why Look at New York City Buildings?

You can get a lot of information from a single photograph, especially if you’re searching for an ancestor with partial or imperfect information and need to know more. You might know that your great-grandfather Joe had a newspaper stand located outside of Ebbets Fields Stadium,  but didn’t know exactly where it was or even what he looked like. There’s a chance the photographer caught him on film in the NYC tax photos of 1940s Brooklyn. At the very least, his news stand might be there, along with some telltale details like addresses, advertising posters, or other identifiable items that can send your search off in new directions.

1940 NYC tax photos reveal a lot about the buildings they document. If you knew that your ancestor lived in an apartment at 223 W. 34th St., for instance, searching for it now won’t get you much. It’s currently a retail space with a Party City located there. But search for it in the collection, and you might see the original structure your own family lived in at the time. 

Pictures like these also add an exciting visual element to your family tree. It’s one thing to draw lines from some names to other names on a chart, but with photos from the New York City buildings’ archive, which are free to copy, each entry on your tree can have attractive NYC 1940 tax photos to add in as a way of making any visual presentation of your research more attractive and real for modern people.

Using NYC Tax Photos From the 1940s for Your Genealogical Research

Tax photos, like other visual documents, enhance and influence our perception of times gone by. Looking over the facade of a crumbling old brownstone on the lower east side, for instance, is much more real for viewers than a bland description of the same structure. It brings these places to life in a way that’s only rivaled by motion pictures for its visceral effect on the people seeing it.

From the people in these photos, it’s possible to build out a comprehensive picture of how your ancestors lived. Even if the specific people you’re researching never appeared in any of the pictures, the people walking in their neighborhood probably have a certain quality that likely translated over to your own ancestor.

If you had ancestors or other relatives living in or around New York City during the late 1930s and early 1940s, these photos might feel like a trip home to see family again. Names and addresses that had always just been words to you might come alive and inspire you to keep up your research until you have a total understanding of where you come from and how it all came down to the present day. Start your research with a free trial of Ancestry today.