Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

The records include addresses, annual reports, correspondence, memos, minutes, program files, newsclippings, administrative records, photographs, video tape, and film. They include material dating from the decades prior to the establishment of the settlement which shed light on the philosophy and motivation of its founders, and offer a unique view of the first wave of the settlement house movement in America. The records document social conditions, demographic change, political activity and philanthropy in New York City. Addresses by East Side House founder Everett P. Wheeler, included in Series I, document his family history and career as a lawyer and civic reformer prior to the founding of East Side House. Wheeler's correspondence details his role in establishing the settlement and managing it during its first decades.

The records include annual reports, board minutes, budgets, by-laws, correspondence, memos, publications, reports, scrapbooks, photographs and printed material. They document the settlement and its antecedent institutions from 1854 to 1994, offering a unique view of the first wave of the settlement house movement in America, as well as related philanthropy and social welfare activities in New York City over a 140 year period. The origins of Goddard-Riverside Community Center are documented in Series I, which includes eight institutional subseries. These records provide a wealth of information on philanthropic, social welfare and settlement work from the mid-19th century through the 1950s. Series II - IV document the activities of the settlement from 1959 to the 1990s, with a particular emphasis on the urban renewal period of the 1960s. Items in Series VII include photographs of staff, activities, facilities of Goddard-Riverside Community Center, as well as several of its predecessor institutions.

The LaGuardia Memorial House Records document the settlement's activities from its earliest years as "The Home Garden" to its current social service programs for the youth of East Harlem. They offer a unique view of the first wave of the settlement movement in America, and document social conditions, demographic change, political activity, philanthropy and social work in East Harlem over a 90 year period. The records include: annual reports, board minutes and correspondence, headworker correspondence, financial records, fundraising information, and photographs.

The records include annual reports, correspondence, memos, minutes, program files, news clippings, administrative records and photographs. They document the agency from its origins in a committee led by the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association to its work during the 1990s providing social services to thousands of East Side residents. The founding and early history of the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center are best documented by minutes in Series II, showing the collaboration between the New York City Housing Authority and the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association to establish the agency. They also offer the most comprehensive view of administrative, fundraising and program decisions from the early years to the 1990s. This series is supplemented by architectural drawings and plans for the community center in Series VI. Program records in Series V focus on the period 1980-90, with a few items from the 1960s and '70s. The agency's fundraising efforts are documented in Series III, which includes correspondence with foundations and individuals, donor lists and committee files.

The Union Settlement Association Records document a century of the settlement's activities, and provide a unique view of the first wave of the settlement movement in America. They document social conditions, demographic change, political activity, philanthropy and social work in East Harlem with a strong emphasis on the urban renewal period of the 1950s and '60s. The records include: annual reports, board minutes and committee files, headworker and executive director files, program reports, community organization files, and visual materials such as photographs, maps and architectural drawings.