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Please note that, due to construction in the Design Commission offices, access to the archives will be limited and some materials may not be available until September 2009.
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Archives
The Design Commission maintains an extensive archive documenting the history of New York City's public works. More than 6,000 exhibition files document design proposals submitted to the Design Commission since 1902. This archive serves as a vital resource for researchers, who regularly consult the files, which include original drawings, photographs and architectural plans. Dating from 1898 to the 1960s, the correspondence files, which consist of more than 80,000 items, provide a lively commentary on the history of design issues in New York City.
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Photograph Collection
The majority of the photograph collection is from 1880 to 1920, but the earliest images date from the 1850s. Photographs of parks, streets, public and commercial buildings, historic houses, murals, portraits and sculptures provide a window into urban development in New York City. The Design Commission also has a significant collection of European prints, maps, plans, pamphlets and postcards collected by Milo R. Maltbie on a 16-city European tour in 1903, when he was the Commission’s Assistant Secretary. The Maltbie Collection documents public monuments, bridges, fountains, parks, plaza and government buildings and was intended to provide a visual reference for the Commission and others involved in public design.
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The online archive presents a selection of images from the Design Commission's archive and photograph collection.
 Enter the archives
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Adobe Acrobat Reader
