A few months ago the city released its 1940s tax photo archive of over 700,000 black and white pictures and it’s a wonderful way for history nerds to waste hours dreaming of the Greenpoint days of yore. As part of the New Deal, the Works Progress Administration employed millions of Americans on public projects, and the NYC Dept. of Taxation hired a team of photographers under the program in 1939 – 1940 to snap pictures of every building in the city for property tax assessment. Greenpointers will be posting side-by-side photos to observe changes in the neighborhood; please note that the addresses are approximate and refer to the listings from the city’s tax archive. First up, Franklin Street:

Dupont and Franklin streets in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
Dupont and Franklin streets in 2018 Google Maps)
233 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
233 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
129 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
129 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
214-218 Franklin St 1940 (NYC tax archive)
214-218 Franklin St 2018 (Google Maps)

24-28 Franklin St 1940 (NYC tax archive)
24-28 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
12 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archives)
12 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
15 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
15 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
33 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
33 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
37 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
37 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)
80 Franklin St. in 1940 (NYC tax archive)
80 Franklin St. in 2018 (Google Maps)

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2

  1. Greenpoint
    Look at those nice old pictures
    Before —nice and clean and business place …

    Now -just figure out yourself ….

    Reply

  2. I lived directly across the street from the last picture….during the 70s it was a diner called Steve’s….many memories on Franklin.

    Reply
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