LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
Fiorello H. LaGuardia Community College
The City University of New York
 
     The Archives houses primary materials on the political and
social history of 20th century New York City, with an emphasis on
the borough of Queens.  The Archives is pleased to serve
students, scholars, researchers, exhibit planners, journalists
and policy makers.
 
Fiorello H. LaGuardia Collection
 
     Recognized as New York's greatest mayor, Fiorello H.
LaGuardia held the city's highest office from 1934 to 1945.  The
collection documents the years of LaGuardia's public career, 1917
to 1947, with an emphasis on the New Deal and World War II eras.
     It consists of transcriptions of his speeches, personal
correspondence and more than 3000 photographs.  It also has
original sketches, scrapbooks and records of his tenure as
director general of the post World War II United Nations Relief
and Rehabilitation Administration.  Also available are microfilm
copies of LaGuardia's Mayoral papers and of his Congressional
Papers (1922-32).  An additional feature is over 100 hours of
audio and video tapes of the LaGuardia years, including oral
history interviews with the mayor's friends and associates, and
radio broadcasts.
 
Robert F. Wagner Collection
 
     Robert F. Wagner was Mayor of New York City from 1954 to
1965, overseeing the construction of housing, parks, roadways and
schools.  He helped to empower municipal labor unions, created
The City University of New York, and carried out innovative anti-
poverty and public health programs.  These and other activities
are reflected in the Wagner collection, which consists of
correspondence, transcriptions of 3300 speeches, 6500
photographs, scrapbooks, personal artifacts and an 100-interview
oral history collection.
 
New York City Housing Authority Papers
 
     The Archives is the repository of the New York City Housing
Authority.  The first housing authority in the country, NYCHA
built and manages projects housing more than 600,000 people. The
collection covers the period from the late 1920s to mid 1980s,
documenting the creation of New York's public housing and
providing information about the lives of low-income residents.
Most themes in the social history of 20th century New York can be
studied through the collection.  The 2000-box collection contains
correspondence, reports and surveys of neighborhoods and tenant
populations.  It also has 25,000 photographs, including rare
interior scenes, and oral histories.
 
Queens Local History Collection
       The Archives houses a collection on the history of Queens
from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century.  This
includes a 1500-image photo collection.  It portrays scenes of
transportation, leisure, work and family life in New York's
largest borough.  The collection also has more than 90 oral
histories on everyday life in Queens.
 
Steinway & Sons Collection
 
     The papers of the Steinway & Sons piano company are at the
Archives.  In the 1870s, the company built a factory in Queens
and constructed street railways and housing, leading to the
county's growth and development.  The collection consists of
family, business and workers' records from 1853 to 1973.  It
facilitates research in labor, immigration, urban, cultural and
business history, with an emphasis on labor history.  The
collection contains more than 2000 photographs, including several
signed prints by famed photographer Margaret Bourke White.  It
also has more than 50 hours of audio and video tapes.
 
Abraham D. Beame Collection
 
     Abraham Beame enjoyed a long and distinguished career in
public service, including a term as Mayor of New York, 1973 to
1977.  The new and growing Beame collection consists of 1000
photographs, 100 artifacts and an assortment of papers
documenting key themes of the Beame years, including the fiscal
crisis.  The Beame oral history project has gathered
recollections of 25 associates and contemporaries of the mayor.
 
Edward I. Koch Collection
 
     The Archives is acquiring the papers of Edward Koch.  New
York's 105th mayor served three terms, from 1977 to 1989.  The
collection includes 500 photographs, videos and documents
shedding light on issues of the Koch years, as well as on his
post-mayoral activities.  Dozens of oral histories offer insights
into major public issues of the Koch years.
 
Access For Researchers
 
     The Archives is located five minutes from the 33rd
Street/Rawson station on the IRT #7 line, which can be reached
from Times Square and Grand Central in Manhattan.  User friendly
computerized indexes facilitate rewarding research.  Hours for
researchers are generally Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm.  Those
interested in using the collection should call or write:
 
Dr. Richard K. Lieberman
Director, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
Fiorello H. LaGuardia Community College/CUNY
31-10 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101; tel: 718-482-5065; fax: 718-482-5069
INTERNET: http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/
.