FEDERAL RECORDS OF THE NORTHEAST REGION FROM

New York • New Jersey

Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

NEW YORK CITY

www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc/

Visit Us!

NATIONAL ARCHIVES at NEW YORK CITY

201 Varick Street, 12th Floor, New York City, NY 10014-4811

Directions

The facility is in downtown Manhattan, 4 blocks north of the 

Holland Tunnel, on the 12th floor at 201 Varick Street. Please note 

the entrance is on Houston Street.

By PATH Train: 33rd Street train to Christopher Street. Walk 

south on Hudson Street to Houston Street. 

By Subway: #1 train to Houston Street (corner of Houston and Varick). 

C or E trains to Spring Street (corner of Spring and 6th Avenue). 

A, B, C, D, E, F (not all run full-time) to West 4th Street (corner 

of West 4th and 6th Avenues). 

By Bus: M5, M6, and M21 buses stop on W. Houston near 

Varick. M10 bus (7th and 8th Avenues) uptown on Hudson to 

near Houston. Some, not all, M10s downtown go as far south as 

Houston. M15 bus connects with the M5 and M21 at E. Houston. 

Take M21 bus to Varick, or M5 bus to 6th Avenue. 

By Car: The facility is 4 blocks north of the Holland Tunnel and just 

off the West Side Highway between Canal and Christopher Streets. 

Contact Us!

Research hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 

Hours subject to change due to holidays, special programs, and 

weather. Please check our web site for current hours. We are 

closed on all Federal holidays.

Telephone: 866-840-1752 

Fax: 212-401-1638

E-mail: newyork.archives@nara.gov

Web site: www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc/

General Information Leaflet 45, Revised 2011

NATIONAL ARCHIVES at

National 

Archives

King Street

Holland 

Tunnel

12th Ave.

Hudson St.

Varick St.

6th Ave.

W. Houston St.
N A T I O N A L A R C H I V E S 

At the National Archives location in New 

York City you can see original historical 

documents, photographs, maps, drawings, 

artifacts, and much more, from over 100 

Federal agencies. By law, we preserve and 

provide access to permanently valuable, 

non-current Federal records with historical, 

legal, or fiscal value.

NEW YORK CITY

v We provide access to the records that document our 

nation’s history.

v We sponsor programs that educate the public about 

archives, history, genealogy, and related subjects.

v We partner with colleges and universities, historical 

and genealogical societies, veterans organizations, 

museums, and other archives.

v We recruit and train volunteers, docents, and interns 

who want to learn more about history while helping 

researchers.

Access is free—to documents, displays and exhibits, online 

genealogy subscription services, workshops, events, and 

more.
At the National Archives you can...

Explore Our Records 

History resides in the documents, photographs, 

illustrations and artifacts of the National Archives. Take 

a moment to discover your heritage and conduct your 

own search in our research room.

Curious about history? Writing a school paper? 

Searching for information about the impact of Federal 

programs? Anyone who needs historical information 

created or received by the Federal Government—

historians, genealogists, lawyers, scholars, Government 

officials, environmentalists, students, teachers, 

veterans—may search our holdings for answers. 

Did you ever wonder what happened after the Titanic

sank? How a person secured their copyright or patent 

from infringement? Or how a person’s daily life was 

affected during wartime? Records at the National 

Archives at New York City can answer these and 

other questions. Our records are diverse in form and 

content, including correspondence, name lists, reports, 

contracts, case files, photographs, maps, posters, and 

drawings which document the actions and reactions 

of the Government and the American people as they 

dealt with issues and events such as immigration and 

naturalization, the environment, technological change, 

the Great Depression, war, and the evolution of a 

multicultural nation.

Two public research areas are available to you—the 

research room, for use of original documents from our 

holdings, and the computer search room, for use of 

online and microfilmed materials.

“The staff is wonderful and attentive, extremely 

helpful and generous, you really made our day 

helping us find a difficult to locate record”

—Gail A., Brooklyn, NY
At the National Archives you can...

Look for Your Family History 

We can assist as you search for information about your

family. We provide access to the Federal population 

censuses for all states, 1790–1930 (the 1940 census will 

be released on April 2, 2012); passenger arrival lists, and 

select naturalization records, Revolutionary War service 

and pension records, World War I draft registration cards 

for New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico; and World 

War II concentration camp records.

Free computer access is available for researchers wanting 

to view Ancestry, Heritage Quest, or Footnote for family 

history.

Consult Our Expert Staff

We are here to help you with your questions. In fact, we 

encourage you to ask us questions. If you have a specific 

need or just need help, our staff is here to guide you to your 

answers as you get started and throughout your exploration. 

If during your search you do not find the needle in 

the haystack you are seeking, you will find something 

unexpected, unique, and fascinating. 

There is no substitute for the experience of holding an 

authentic historical record, for being on-site as you learn 

from professionals how to search documents while you 

discover your own connections to our nation’s past. 
Discover Our Education Programs

For Educators

We assist teachers in the use of primary source documents 

useful in K-16 curriculum. Resources permitting, we:

v teach professional development workshops for 

educators at our facility and in schools. 

v provide primary source documents tied to state 

teaching standards, in New Jersey and New York, for 

use in the classroom and lesson plans.

v provide copies or facsimiles of primary sources suitable 

for use in the classroom. 

v co-sponsor workshops with educator associations

v co-sponsor workshops with recipients of Teaching 

American History grants. 

Refresh your teaching objectives with professional 

development sessions. Work with our education staff to 

custom-design an interactive, hands-on learning experience 

that includes a tour of our facilities with our staff. 

Primary records can support school curriculum and 

cover a wide scope of topics including: immigration 

and citizenship, the evolution of the Federal courts and 

their impact on everyday life, the alien and sedition acts, 

constitutional and civil rights, economic development, 

antitrust prosecutions, the environment, invention and 

technology, organized crime, the labor movement, 17th 

and 18th century admiralty cases, the arts, censorship, 

the New Deal, the Cold War, African Americans, Native 

Americans, Chinese exclusion, the Civil War, war and the 

home front, maritime, and so much more.

For Students

Looking for materials to use for reports in class or to support 

your National History Day project? Use our records: 

v as primary sources for your research project,

v to demonstrate or illustrate the questions or answers in 

your paper,

v to enhance your presentation, or

v as research for National History Day projects.

Field Trips and On-Site Visits

Refresh your classroom activities with customized field trips. 

Work with our education staff to custom-design interactive, 

hands-on learning experience that includes a tour of our 

archival repository. Educators will also receive pre-visit and 

post-visit curriculum materials. All programs are standards 

based and emphasize cross-curricular connections.

Become A Docent, Volunteer 

or Intern 

Interested in history or genealogy? As a volunteer you will help 

generations of people learn about their history, and you will 

play a vital role in the success of our programs. Whether you 

are between careers or working, a college or graduate student, 

or a retiree, a satisfying volunteer experience awaits you! 

v Genealogy research assistants help patrons research 

their family history. 

v Docents guide visitors through our facility and exhibits 

and answer questions about the archives. 

v Preservation volunteer and interns perform various 

tasks including the preparation of original records for 

public use and data entry. 

Please ask us for more information! 
National Archives and 

Records Administration

Make an Appointment to Use 

Original Records

Our staff is here and ready to assist you. Because research 

is time-consuming, you may need to visit more than once. 

Please call 866-840-1752 before visiting to assure that 

records are available.

Please bring identification such as a driver’s license, 

passport, or student ID so that we can issue you a 

researcher’s card.

Please plan on leaving your personal belongings in a 

locker. Laptop computers and digital cameras without the 

flash are permitted.

Get Copies of Records 

For a fee, our staff will make or arrange for copies of 

records and provide certified copies for legal use.

You can use self-service copiers for a fee to make paper 

copies from microfilm.

Self-service copying of originals records may be allowed 

depending on the condition of the records.

Anyone who has cleaned out a family attic knows 

the importance of keeping family records. You may 

have military records from relatives who served in 

one of the World Wars—or even the Civil War. Or 

pictures of your great-great grandparents on the 

day they became American citizens. Now imagine 

the task of the National Archives and Records 

Administration—record keepers for all historically 

valuable records created by agencies of your Federal 

Government. 

From one building on Pennsylvania Avenue in 

Washington, DC, the National Archives has grown 

to 13 archives locations nationwide, from Atlanta to 

Anchorage.

“Our students really connected to the immigrants that you 

taught about during their field trip. They still talk about 

that trip and all that they learned. Thanks so much.”

—Kathleen A., Seaford, NY,