The vintage postcards in this collection told stories for the people who sent them or received them and those who bought them and collected them. Today, these postcards of Kingston tell us a story of a city rich in history, architecture, community spirit, and civic pride. In these images of the city’s streets, parks, and buildings, we see some vistas that have changed little since the 1900s and others that seem unrecognizable today. As you explore the collection, we hope you’ll enjoy a look back in time at our city that has been thriving and evolving since 1652. And perhaps, like the Friends of Historic Kingston, you’ll recognize the importance of preserving this city for future generations.

This Collection contains several postcards dating from between of points of interest around Lake Champlain. These include the Hotel Champlain and Clinton Community College, taken from both the land and the water.

Most of the postcards in this collection are believed to have been produced by Schenectady photographer Parker S. Goodfellow. Between 1906 and 1918, he photographed more than 32,000 scenes around New York State, many in the Capital District. According to an interview in the Schenectady Gazette, he traveled by foot, horse and buggy and motorcycle. More photographs can be found in the digital collection of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library. Source: Old Fulton New York Post Cards by Tom Tryniski

Lynne Browne, working with Dr. Kathryn Stam’s and SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s project Refugees Starting Over, photographed the subjects of Portraits of Hope at cultural events in Utica and Rome from 2012 to 2016. While many of the subjects came to Utica over the past 15 years, some arrived only a few days before they were photographed. The portraits capture the pain of the past as well as the promise of a new future: memories of love and joy mingle with the distress of departure and novel experiences, both bright and bewildering, in a new land.

Memoirists include institutional leaders, maritime workers, early settlers, community volunteers, businessmen and women and members of the region’s diverse ethnic groups.
The Oral History Collection now holds more than 200 interviews and 8,000 pages of transcript, each indexed and summarized. Collections are subcategorized by the following subject headings:
African-American Heritage
Aviation History and Folk Traditions
Gold Coast Estate Workers
Main Street School
Maritime Traditions
Medical Professionals
Port Washington Business Community
Port Washington History
Port Washington Public Library History
Port Washington Play Troupe
Port Washington Volunteer fire Department
Sandmining in Port Washington
September 11 Oral History Project

The Port Washington Maritime Collection features materials from the Local History Center that relate to the region’s rich maritime history and traditions. Materials featured in this digital collection include items from the following larger collections which may be explored in our Local History Room: A Centennial History; The Aviation Collection; Christensen Photographs; Dorothea Hahn Photographs; The Harold Rudd Papers; The Hewlett Family Papers; The Leiber Family Papers; The Long Island Collection; The Leiber Family Papers; The Long Island Collection; The Map Collection; The Maritime Collection; The McCann Photo Album; The Oscar G. Petersen Collection; The Port Washington Photographs; The Port Washington Postcard Collection; The Sand Mining Collection; and The Sands Point Collection.

The Port Washington Main Street Collection brings together photographs, postcards, and other historic materials that reflect the rich past of this community nestled between Manhasset and Hempstead Bays.

The Port Washington Library History Collection contains images from the planning and construction of the library in the mid-1960s to life and library activities that have taken place since that time.

This collection contains postcards provided by the Port Jefferson Free Library and the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson. Subject include businesses, street views, maritime activities, and residences.

This collection contains over 500 photographs of Lockport with concentrations on the downtown center and the businesses there during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. In addition, there are many views of the Erie Canal from various vantage points and at differing times of the year. There are photographs of most of Lockport's schools, churches, civic buildings, and industries. Some of the photographs date to the early 20th century.