Research Links | Online Sources - free unless otherwise indicated
Newspapers
(Approximately in order of usefulness)
Newspapers.com (subscription)
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection (includes NY Clipper)
NY Times Times Machine (subscription)
NewspaperArchive.com (subscription, fewer newspapers, some different)
UNZ Review Alternative Media Selection (Haven't explored a lot, but looks interesting, tho not very searchable)
Maps
OldNYC Historic NYC Photos Mapped
Urban Archive Mapped Photos
NYC.gov 1940s Tax Photos
Libraries
Chicago Public Library Theater Digital Collection | Archives Portal | Research Catalog
Library of Congress Digital Collection | Catalog
Archives
EBSCO (sub scription or through library, has some magazines not found elsewhere)
Hathi Trust (subscription or through library)
JStore (subscription or through library) | Burlesque Beginnings Article
Gale Archives of Sexuality and Gender (subscription or through library)
Google Books (perhaps the least easily searchable archives of the bunch)
Museum Collections
Chicago History Museum Images
NY Historial Collection / Digital Collection
Smithsonian: American History
Smithsonian: Digital Collection
Smithsonian: Archives Collections Search
Historical Theatres & Images
Cinema Treasures Great resource for theatres that later switched to movies
Geographic Guide NY "Antique Photographs" and this 1899 Pictoral Description of Broadway
A Useful Search Engine
Marginalia Search Marginalia isn’t seeking to replace Bing or Google, but to complement them, to provide a minority report that keeps them honest.