Flatbush Photos — Flatbush History

Everywhere you can find historical photos of Flatbush

Looking for historical photos of Flatbush? You’ve found ’em. Here’s a giant list of where I’ve found the photos for this site and my Instagram page, plus many more. Please note that many of the photos on these sites are copyrighted and not free to use. I’ve listed (PD) when a site includes public domain photos (i.e., photos that are free from copyright restrictions).

Digital Public Libraries of America - this catalog contains more than 1,000 historic Flatbush photos from the New-York Historical Society, Brooklyn Historical Society, New York Public Library, and other public sources (some PD)

Brooklyn Public Library - The BPL has almost 2,000 archival photos of Flatbush, including old homesteads, Ebbets Field/the Dodgers, and public buildings like libraries and hospitals (some PD)

Library of Congress - Lots of Flatbush Ave businesses and Erasmus Hall photos (PD)

Columbia University Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Collection - old Flatbush postcards, consisting of black & white and colorized photos. Street scenes, landmarks like Erasmus High School and various churches, and Dutch homesteads from circa 1900s (PD)

Columbia University New York Real Estate Brochure Collection - brochures advertising many of Flatbush’s apartment buildings that were built in the 1920s–50s

Brooklyn Museum - Photos predating 1900 (mostly of homesteads), including work by George Bradford Brainerd (mostly PD)

Brooklyn College Archives & Special Collections - Photos and documents relating to Brooklyn College and its surrounding neighborhood, including former uses of the land where it now stands

Tax Photos - In the 1940s and 1980s, the New York City government commissioned photos of nearly every building in the city, for tax purposes.

NYC Department of Records 1940s NYC Tax Photos - Photos of nearly every building in New York City in the 1940s, including those in Flatbush. Search by street name (spelled out completely), e.g. Beverley Road.
NYC Department of Records 1980s NYC Tax Photos - Similar to the above, but the photos on the site are blurry (if you buy a print, they’ll send you something in focus). However, it’s still good to use for reference.
Tax Photo Map - This beautiful interactive map by Julian Boilen takes the above photos and makes them even easier to search

Old NYC Photos - This commercial site that sells prints has lots of Flatbush photos you can’t find online anywhere else, especially of old Flatbush theatres

Brooklyn’s Garden; Views of Picturesque Flatbush - This photo book by Charles Andrew Ditmas in 1908 contains a couple dozen color photos of old Dutch homesteads and Flatbush landmarks (PD)

Flickr photos tagged Flatbush - A wide variety of photos from the 2000s to today. Use the filters to search by date and license (creative commons, etc.)

Getty Images - These photos (covering major events, locations, and personalities) are very expensive to buy the rights to, but they’re free to look at. Also contains archival photos from the New York Historical Society collection and other historic photos.

Ebbets Field photos - Check out pages 4 & 5 of this gallery to see some of the best photos of Ebbets I’ve seen, collected by historian Peter Laskowich

Flatbushed - I love this site, which features vintage images of Flatbush mixed with photos of new buildings. Also as a great Twitter account that posts lots of old photos.

Jamel Shabazz - Jamel Shabazz is a noted street photographer from Brooklyn who captured life in Flatbush in the 80s and 90s. Here are a couple of places you can find his Flatbush & East Flatbush photos online:

Flatbush photos from the Jamel Shabazz Collection at the Brooklyn Public Library
This gallery of photos from Shabazz’s book Sights in the City: New York Photographs contains many Flatbush scenes

We Are Flatbush on Instagram - Photos and stories about the legendary people and places of 1990s Flatbush. Unequivocal.

Flatbush History App

Urban Archive - A New York history buff’s dream come true, this app overlays photos from historical societies, libraries, and other sources on a map of your location and gives you informative captions for each. Contains lots photos and information specific to Flatbush.

Other Research Materials