Learning Places Fall 2015
SITE REPORT #3 NYPL
Entrance of NYPL
STUDENT NAME: NICOLETA KOUBEK
10.27.2015
INTRODUCTION
Our class assignment for this semester consists in exploring Vinegar Hill area where Farragut
Houses are located. We took a look at the site and studied the past of this neighborhood, using different
research tools. One research method was visualizing the map collection at NYPL (New York Public
Library). On October 21st, we met in room 215 of NYPL and were shown several maps of Brooklyn that
included Vinegar Hill. The oldest maps in the collection we saw were dated 1766. Another map from the
category William – Perris was dated 1955. We also saw maps dated 1895, 1915, and 1950. One of the
atlases had the document called “Mayor’s Committee on Property improvement” dated 1941. This
document encloses justification of the demolition of some buildings on Fulton Street. The demolition
was possible after two months of “survey” and by signing the “Urban Redevelopment Corporation Bill.”
PRE-VISIT REFLECTION
Besides being a place of study, New York Public Library, located in Manhattan at 42nd Street
between 5th and 6th Avenues, also represents a touristic objective. This summer, I visited this place with
my family as the building represents a great architectural attraction. It was a really impressive visit and I
am looking forward to go there again tomorrow for a second visit.
Our tomorrow’s objective is to study the map collection from 10 am to 12:30pm. I am very
eager to see some of them, as there is impossible to see the whole collection in such a short time.
According to Knutzen, (2013) the collection includes 433,000 sheet maps. A better way to study more
maps would be viewing them in a digitalized form.
In “Unbinding the Atlas: Moving the NYPL Map Collection beyond Digitization,” the author
informs us that the process of digitalization was started in 2000. The purpose of digitalization was to
grant access at the global level to the maps. (Knutzen, 2013) On line availability of maps was done
through a long and complicated process. It was a combined effort of map librarians, GIS professionals,
and other experts.
I am looking forward to enrich my knowledge with the map collection. I also hope that we will
get a quick overview on accessing maps in the electronic version. Although there will be an extremely
short time for our visit, I expect to learn more about this library, the sources it has and how to access
them.
SITE DOCUMENTATION (photos/sketches)
1
Map Collection Room of the NYPL
Map completed in 1969 that includes Farragut Houses
2
12Main Lobby of NYPL
Hallway at NYPL
Mayor's Committee on Property Management Front Pages
NY Map dated 1776
Insurance Maps from 1915 and later
3
Atlas of Insurance Maps 1915
SITE OBSERVATIONS
1. The oldest maps we saw were dated 1766.
2. Most maps were wrapped in plastic.
3. Atlases had pieces of paper glued on the original maps to make the maps more accurate.
4. There were 5 Churches in the area of the projects before Farragut Houses were built.
5. There was a Church located on the same spot where the projects are now.
6. There were 3 schools in the area of the projects before Farragut Houses were built.
7. There were about 35 houses per block in the area of the projects before Farragut Houses were
built.
QUANTITATIVE DATA
Subject
Data
Number of Churches in Vinegar
Hill area before Farragut
5
Houses were built
Number of Churches on the
same land piece where
Farragut Houses were built
Number of Houses that existed
on the same piece of land
where Farragut Houses were
built
1
30-40 houses in a block
Number of schools that existed
on the same piece of land
3
before Farragut Houses were
built
Number of YMCA- Navy Branch
that existed on the same piece
1
of land before Farragut
Houses were built
Number of Tutti Frutti MFG
that existed on the same piece
of land before Farragut
4
1
Houses were built
Number of sheet maps in the
map collection of NYPL
433,000
Number of books and atlases
20,000
Number of atlas maps sheets
18,000
QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the date limit to digitalize a map?
2. Does NYPL have maps in the collection as old as 1766?
3. Why were there pieces of paper glued on the maps in the atlases?
4. What is the date on the oldest maps visualized at NYPL?
5. What happened to all the buildings that existed where the projects are located now?
6. How long was the process of analyzing the area before demolition?
7.
What happened with the people who lived in the houses that were demolished?
8. How many houses were per block before Farragut Houses were built?
HYPOTHESIS:
1. Maps dated 1920 or older cannot be digitalized as it can affect the document.
2. The map collection at NYPL includes maps as old as 1766.
3. There were pieces of paper glued on the maps in the atlases to make the images more accurate.
4. The oldest maps are dated 1776.
5. Those buildings were demolished.
6. The area was surveyed for two months.
7. Those people had to leave their houses.
8. There were between 30 and 40 houses per block.
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SUMMARY / POST VISIT REFLECTION
Today our class met at New York Public Library in room 215 to visualize a map collection. It was
very impressive to learn that the collection includes maps as old as 1776. Although these precious
sources of information are a great benefit for historical studies, some of them cannot be digitalized to
be accessed online. The librarian informed us that the maps older than 1920 are not and cannot be
digitalized.
We were shown map sheets and atlases made from 1776 to nowadays. Most maps we were
able to visualize in room 215 were carefully arranged with book marks for us to study our area of
interest: Vinegar Hills. One atlas in particular dated 1941 had an introductive word that showed the plan
of the City of New York to demolish buildings on Fulton Street.
The greatest informative portion of this site visit was counting the houses per block. It was very
interesting to notice that there were between 30 and 40 houses within a block. If we consider that one
household might have included an average of 3 people and the average number of houses in one block
was about 35, we can conclude that before Farragut Houses were built there were over 100 people
living in one block, more precisely 105 people in one block only.
Today’s visit was very instructive. I was able to learn how to access maps online. I also got a
library card today. It was a very easy and fast process. In less than five minutes, I received my card. The
librarian guided me in the electronic study of maps and explained me this is a difficult research process.
He e-mailed me a link for a quicker access.
REFERENCES TO EXPLORE HYPOTHESIS
Retrieved 10/23/2015 from http://maps.nypl.org/warper/maps/17423#Export_tab
Knutzen, M. m. (2013). Unbinding the Atlas: Moving the NYPL Map Collection Beyond
Digitization. Journal Of Map & Geography Libraries, 9(1/2), 8-24.
Mayor’s Committee on Property improvement” 1941
Brooklyn Community District 2 - New York City Department of City Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 22, 2015 from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neigh_info/bk02_info.shtml
NYCHA Housing Developments. Retrieved October 22, 2015 from
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/bklynfarragut.shtml
US Census Bureau. Retrieved October, 29, 2015 from www.census.gov
Sperling’s Best Places. Religion. Retrieved October, 29, 2015 from www.bestplaces.net
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US Demography 1790 to Present. Retrieved December 1, 2015 from
http://www.socialexplorer.com/6f4cdab7a0/explore)
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1915 - 1977).
Duffield Street [detail]. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/70e1f556-d0a2a3c6-e040-e00a18066ebc
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. (1915 1977). Navy Yard [detail]. Retrieved from
http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/70e1f556-d0a2-a3c6-e040-e00a18066ebc
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