When the origins of the New York City Landmarks Law can be found with the click of a button sitting at home on your computer, it is a wonder anyone still goes to the museums. The Museum of the City of New York is taking the initiative to appeal to the public with their new digital Historypin project, Our Town reports.
The archival team from the museum is working with a non-profit company called We Are What We Do, along with Google to make historical information available and interactive. The website they are creating will take historical images and pin them to maps where people will be able to comment and add stories and photos.
Hundreds of images from the museum, such as a view of Dr. Wasson's dentistry in 1932, which is now the Highland's Cafe will available to viewers with one simple click. This grant-funded project has been taking place since 2009 and currently the museum has 1,500 images available dating back to the 1840s.
Vice president of communications Laura Washington from the New-York Historical Society, who is also going through this same process, said, "People are seeing what's online, getting a taste and then wanting to come in and see everything."
For more information, visit Our Town.
Museum of the City of New York: 1220 5th Ave., bet. E. 103rd & 104th Sts.
