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New York City Building History

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Guide to researching history of New York City Buildings

It is quite common for a home owner to be curious about a new building that they have acquired or plan to acquire. Additionally several people tend to research about the building they are working or living in. Some people also often set off on a quest to gain knowledge about other buildings and monuments. The main areas of interest of such people is to find more information about the previous owners and more details about the history of the building. Here are a list of main factors that such people are usually interested in:

Date of construction of the building
The initial owner of the building and more details about him.
List of subsequent owners if any.
What the building was originally built for.
The original state of the building and the changes made there after.
Changes in the immediate …show more content…

This person is likely to have access to a great deal of information of New York Census.
To get a brief idea of the architecture style and trends at the time the building was constructed, it is possible to consult the Art and Architecture section of a library. For example, the New York Public Library has such a division.
One of the best placed to find plenty of information regarding the history of a building is the Tax Assessor's office. Since this office needs to keep records for official purposes they have a great deal of information. The information available here includes the current owner, building construction area, a list of past owners, the past and current uses of the building, material used in construction of the building, list of building violations if any, any photographs associated with building and much more.
The maps and surveyors office is a good place to get hold of old maps and surveys. It is possible to trace back using information received from this office and put together the overall history of the building and its

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