These linked sites contain, either in whole or in part, open-access materials for you to explore! Pay attention to relevant filters! But these are excellent places to start learning more about American history and the history of NYC.
Cleveland Art Museum Open-Access Materials
- This site has a wonderful collection of open-access art, media, photography, and more to explore.
- This resource can help you locate people and places in NYC history.
- Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
New York City Maps and Atlases
Interactive New York City Map & Photo Album
- You can explore a map of NYC and see corresponding photos at various streets. You can also limit your date range.
- The de facto library of the United States, the Library of Congress has impressive digital collections that are open to anyone for exploration.
Black History in New York City
- These digital collections with the NYPL offer a fascinating insight into the history of black New Yorkers. Also check out the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
- The Smithsonian is a group of museums, education and research centers created by the U.S. government “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Their digital open-access collections are impressive!
- Explore these visual artifacts of working class urban life.
- The Met has one of the most impressive collections of digital art sources in the world, and many of them are open-access.
Historical Postcards of New York City
- When photographs were all black-and-white, postcards offered people colorful, often idealized images of the city.
The National Gallery Open-Access Materials
- The National Gallery has an amazing open data program and houses more than 60,000 images available for download, with more added every day as they become available. A great resource for art and media!
Maps of New York City and State
Collection of Photos of New York City
Chicago Art Institute Open-Access Materials
- The Art Institute of Chicago offers free, unrestricted use of over 50,000 images of works in the collection believed to be in the public domain or to which the museum otherwise waives any copyright it might have.
Museum of Modern Art Photographs
New York City Depression-era Photographs
The Eno collection of New York City views
- The Eno Collection, donated to the New York Public Library in 1922 by Amos F. Eno, contains over 700 views and comprises a pictorial documentation of the history of the city of New York.
