DIGITAL COLLECTIONS OF THE BLOOMINGDALE NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY GROUP
Select items from the BNHG Library Collection have been digitized at
https://bnhgdigitalcollections.omeka.net/
Select items from the BNHG Library Collection have been digitized at
https://bnhgdigitalcollections.omeka.net/
Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group Library Collection
There’s good news for anyone interested in the history of the Bloomingdale neighborhood, anyone who wants to find out more about the people, organizations, businesses and institutions that have made the neighborhood such a unique and ever-evolving piece of Manhattan.
After a long hiatus, caused by the confluence of the pandemic and the completion of some long-planned renovations, the Bloomingdale public library has moved back into its building, and that means that finally the neighborhood archive created and maintained by the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group is back at the branch where it belongs. This time it’s in an even more accessible spot than before. The archives, plus a collection of books donated to the BNHG by well-known Upper West Side historian Peter Salwen, are now available to the public, located just inside the doors of the library, next to the circulation desk.
Whether you’re interested in researching a specific topic or would just like to browse the collection, you’re guaranteed to find something interesting, something that surprises you and makes you want to dig deeper into the wonders of local history.
Location:
New York Public Library Bloomingdale Branch
1st Floor - by the circulation desk
150 W. 100th Street, New York, NY 10025
(near SE corner Amsterdam Ave. & W. 100th St.)
There’s good news for anyone interested in the history of the Bloomingdale neighborhood, anyone who wants to find out more about the people, organizations, businesses and institutions that have made the neighborhood such a unique and ever-evolving piece of Manhattan.
After a long hiatus, caused by the confluence of the pandemic and the completion of some long-planned renovations, the Bloomingdale public library has moved back into its building, and that means that finally the neighborhood archive created and maintained by the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group is back at the branch where it belongs. This time it’s in an even more accessible spot than before. The archives, plus a collection of books donated to the BNHG by well-known Upper West Side historian Peter Salwen, are now available to the public, located just inside the doors of the library, next to the circulation desk.
Whether you’re interested in researching a specific topic or would just like to browse the collection, you’re guaranteed to find something interesting, something that surprises you and makes you want to dig deeper into the wonders of local history.
Location:
New York Public Library Bloomingdale Branch
1st Floor - by the circulation desk
150 W. 100th Street, New York, NY 10025
(near SE corner Amsterdam Ave. & W. 100th St.)
Description:
The Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group Library Collection consists of materials collected by the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group since 2003 and catalogued by theme and subject. On this page some Highlights and Guidelines are listed below the Themes.
The primary contributors to the collection are our neighbors on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. If you have papers, photos and/or other material you think may be of interest to include in this Collection, please email the Collection committee by clicking Committee
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Themes:
Click on an individual theme below to see a list and location of individual titles within the theme file.
A. Houses of Worship
C. Buildings Past & Present
D. Schools
E. Social Services
F. Parks & Playgrounds
G. Elected & Political Figures
H. Business Associations
J. Block & Neighborhood Associations
K. Neighborhood History and Preservation
L. Libraries
M. Businesses
N. People
P. Uniform Services & Transportation
Q. Medical/Health Centers
R. Urban Development
S. Arts & Architecture
U. Maps
V. District Projects
W. Neighboring Neighborhoods
X. Miscellaneous
BOOKS:
The books on top of the file cabinets were donated by NYC historian Peter Salwen for
reference in the library. See separate catalog of the Salwen collection. The collection also
includes periodicals (many of which include his own entertaining articles on UWS history)
and small items, which will be found in the bottom drawer of the right file cabinet.
LANDMARKING REPORTS:
These substantial spiral-bound reports, in the right file cabinet, bottom drawer, contain
details of ALL buildings in landmarked historic districts in our area. These were donated
by the Neighborhood Preservation Center.
Highlights of the Collection, and Digital Collection:
The Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Collection includes a number of files that are particularly rich or unique; a few of these are described below. We have also scanned and posted several of these online here: https://bnhgdigitalcollections.omeka.net/items/browse.
The Old Community - W. 98th & 99th Street Association
From the early 1930s until the mid-1950s there was a vibrant community of African-Americans on West 98th and 99th Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. This community was dislocated when the urban renewal project commissioned by Robert Moses cleared the 20 acres of land on which Park West Village subsequently was built. Newspaper clippings, photos, church bulletins, and school sport and graduation programs reveal the character of the old community. The programs of the annual reunions held by the Old Community - West 98th and 99th Street Association portray the continuing bond among the Old Community members.
Collection File Locations: The West 98th and 99th Street Old Community J9003
St. Jude's Chapel A1006
Manhattantown Demolition - 1954-1960
The 1950s slum clearance/urban renewal project that became Park West Village in the 1960s was marked by multiple redesigns of the project, financial irresponsibility and the beginnings of the questioning of Robert Moses' approach to city development. The Collection includes initial project designs and agreements; the early promotion pamphlets offered to Park West Village residents from the initial owner/managers Webb and Knapp, and Alcoa; the 1954 and 1956 Women's City Club Studies- Tenant Relocation at West Park and Manhattantown Two Years Later; and the December 1959 special double edition of The Nation titled "The Shame of New York" which unearthed financial deals and named names. Later material on the subject includes the Manhattan chapter of Robert Caro's book The Power Broker (1974) and a revisionary paper (2008) by Columbia Spectator former editor Sarah Vogel.
Collection File Locations: Park West Village Development 1950s-1960s R16005
Women's City Club - 1954 - 1956 Studies R16002
The Shame of New York - The Nation R16001
A Bloomingdale Conservation Project
A Bloomingdale Conservation Project scrapbook of news articles and photos prepared by the Park West Neighborhood Group tells the story of an early 1960s West Side community effort to maintain and create a neighborhood that valued all its residents whether rich or poor. This movement was a counter to the concurrent slum clearance of the 1950s.
Collection File Location: Bloomingdale Conservation Project R16003
The Development of the Branch Library System of the New York Public Library and the Bloomingdale Branch, a May 2004 talk by Susan Singer, then Bloomingdale Branch Librarian.
Collection File Location: New York Public Library - Bloomingdale Branch L11002
The New York Cancer Hospital by Charles Coolidge Haight: A Nineteenth Century Circular Ward Hospital by Martha Elizabeth Flach. This is a MS thesis in Historic Preservation, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, 1994. It was contributed for a May 2005 program and visit to Central Park Towers (former First Cancer Hospital and Towers Nursing Home at Central Park West and 106th Street)
Collection File Location: Towers Nursing Home aka First Cancer Hospital Q15008
Creating a Westside Landmark: 891 Amsterdam Avenue from 1883 as a Home for "respectable aged indigent females" to 1990 as New York's first official youth hostel, photos and talk by Pam Tice, former executive director of Hostelling International-New York, October 2010.
Collection File Location: American Youth Hostel M12008
Guidelines for Use of the Collection
The Library Collection is located in two file cabinets near the circulation desk on the main floor.
Finding a file
The materials are catalogued in files by topic. A list of the topics and file numbers is located on top of the cabinets. Please return the list when finished consulting it.
Copying and Returning Materials to the File
Materials may be copied on the library's copy machine or personal device. Please return materials to the file. If not sure of the file location, please leave the material in the gray box on top of the cabinets for refiling.
Questions?
A librarian can offer assistance on site, or email a query to the BNHG Library Collection committee by clicking Committee.
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