Anybody ever look at NYPL Digital Library floorplans?

no, I had not looked at the floor plans, but recently did start exploring the digital library's collection of photographs of various parts of NYC, apparently taken in 1936 for the most part - thanks for the tip about floor plans

can't help but notice how many of these grand old apt bldgs whose floor plans are in this collection are in areas most people would not be caught dead in today - in the '70s of course all the UWS was scarey, but if one thinks that every grand old oversized apartment has been already discovered, notice that 135th & Bway, W.148th St., etc. are in this collection

now search their collection of photos to see the context of those buildings - I spent an hour or two looking at photos of the Bronx, and this made me realize that a building I thought was '50s or '60s vintage was being built in 1936 - also confirmed my suspicions about regrading of the topography in the West Bronx, i.e., flattening hill tops - also that the Grand Concourse was actually cut through the hills so that the sidewalks on either side passed by lots that towered above pedestrians' heads, with homes' porches above head level

I enjoy poking around old neighborhoods to look at buildings that have gone from fashionable to frightening in 70 years' time yet have survived the fires of the '70s, such as the Lewis Morris at about E.174th and GC, 16 stories, once "the place to live in the Bronx" and now a disaster

Yes. There are some amazing buildings in Wash. Hts, I wonder how many of those details are intact - mainly because Wash. Hts is far from being gentrified.

apts probably broken into smaller ones - ceilings probably caved in, etc.

nyc, thanks a lot for the link. loved to see that apartments in nyc had a livable size once upon a time!

I've used the floor plans to figure out a building's original configuration -- very helpful if you are buying an apt. that has been cut up. It can help you determine where walls were originally placed, if plumbing has been added or moved, etc.