During the late 30’s/early 40’s, the city photographed every house in every borough for tax purposes. They did this again in the mid 80’s. Prints are available for purchase from NYC. gov. Prices start at $35 for a black and white 8×10 from the 40’s.

My house didn’t look all that different than it does today, although the 1940’s row of houses almost look like dirty limestones rather than brownstones. Unfortunately, someone along the way painted my home brown, so it’s lacking some authenticity. Oh, it’s under there, but who can afford to restore the exterior? I can’t.

The front doors can easily be replaced by salvaged ones, but the stair rails will be pricey to put back. It is something we’d like to do if we have some spare dough. We definitely have to redo the stoop and it would make sense to take care of both at the same time. We may end up with something not totally original, but nicer than what’s there.

I ordered the print to incorporate into my top secret project that will be revealed soon. Ok, it’s a counter top. The print is scanned for embedding in resin along with a few other items from the house and the original will hang on the wall.

Below is a snappie I took in 2005 before we closed on the house.

I’m kinda curious about the 80’s shot now.