Best Practices: Locating

Updated May 27th, 2020

This style guide covers the stylistic quirks of naming locations.

Creating a Location

If you are locating archival photos in Urban Archive, you will inevitably come across one that doesn’t have a pre-existing location in which case you will need to create a location! But what address should you use? The first thing to do is to decide what building, place, thing is the focus of the photo. This will be what you are locating.

When the building still exists!

If the building in the photograph is still standing, use the current address. In some cases, street numbering conventions have been adjusted (see Appendix for Queens addresses), or buildings have adopted new designations.

If a street name has changed, use the current street name. This applies to both mass re-namings, as in Queens numbering, or to honorifics, like Marcus Garvey Boulevard.

When the building is no longer there!

Use the address of the current building on the same site, if that building occupies a similar lot.

If there is no building on the site (parks, some highways or expanded streets), or the current building is substantially different (usually larger, occupying a different lot or set of lots), pin the location using lat/long coordinates, and use the old address in the address column. This will cause it to appear on the map as a pin. Similarly, if the street or even the neighborhood doesn’t exist, use lat/long.

Naming Locations: Addresses and Special Names

Please Don’t Abbreviate

With both addresses and Special Names, write out the entirety of the address or name. This helps to ensure uniformity so that users can find addresses easily and to reduce duplicates. ( I.E correct: 155 Rivington Street, 163 East 73rd Street, 279 Central Park West, 2149 Park Avenue. Incorrect: 15 W 4th Street, 300 Myrtle Ave.)

Assigning Special Names

Special Names are assigned to a location with a non-address name. Whether you are using lat/long or address, you can assign a special name. Special Names should be used whenever a building is commonly known by a certain name (e.g. Empire State Building) or where such a name adds to the understanding of that building’s history (e.g. Charles Pratt House).

Use the name listed by Landmarks Preservation Commission documents.If the building is an individual Historic Landmark, it will likely have a name apart from its address.If the building is part of a historic district, but does not have a name apart from its address, there is no need to assign a special name.In some cases, buildings that have not been designated as Landmarks have had designation proposals prepared. If you’re able to find such documents, use the proposed building name.

Use the title of the building’s Wikipedia articleWiki may have its weaknesses, but the existence of a Wiki entry is a strong proxy for a building’s “notability.”

Use research sources, but be sure to confirm naming by referencing more than one source. Reliable sources included: Daytonian, GVSHP, Brownstoner, etc. (See the Appendix for list of sources.)

Use the name included in the photo caption.

Tend Toward General Consensus!

Locations should be named by their most commonly used title or address. If you disagree with the common name or address, this could be a good subject for a post or story, but should not alter its naming.

Intersections naming

When creating locations at intersections, please do so alphabetically. Start with the type of thoroughfare (i.e First Avenue and East 12th Street) then move to the street names (Broome Street and Mercer Street.)