For an Albany building project dated 1911–1913, the New York State Archives finding aid identifies a specific series of building permit plans, A3342. The plans are arranged by year and permit number, with no index accompanying the microfilm. Start by finding or narrowing the permit number, because the film is organized by number rather than street address. Public-use film is held at the State Archives, while the originals remain with the local government.
Get from an Albany address to a 1911–1913 permit number
The Archives describes the series as “as-built” drawings submitted to Albany’s building department as part of permit and certificate-of-occupancy issuance records, and survival varies by address. Gather independent clues first: the address as it appeared near construction, a bounded year, a permit or certificate number on an old card, and any building-department correspondence. A later tax description or an undated photograph can narrow the question, and the permit number itself has to come from a record.
If the number is not in hand, ask the City of Albany Buildings office whether it can locate the early permit entry or a number from its locally held material. Its current Buildings contact page lists codes@albanyny.gov and 518-434-5995; give the historical address and the narrow year range. The modern Albany CSS building-record guide covers later City documents and explains why some pre-2023 files require office help; the 1911–1913 film series sits with the State Archives.
If the City supplies a permit number, preserve its exact form and year; a nearby number from a different year or address points to a different plan. If the City can’t locate one, tell the Archives what date and address evidence you do have and ask whether a bounded film review is feasible. A missing address index means the search takes more steps, and the plan may still be on the film.
Ask the State Archives for the A3342 roll that fits the permit
The series finding aid lists 37 microfilm rolls. Give Researcher Services the year and permit number and ask which roll contains that entry and whether a public-use copy is available. Record series A3342, the roll number staff identifies and the permit number before asking to see or copy an image. If the number remains unknown, give staff the construction window and ask whether a bounded review is practical.
The Archives’ description distinguishes a public-use duplicate from a security copy. It says the public-use film contains nonrestricted records and is available at the State Archives research room; security film is stored separately. Ask Researcher Services about the specific roll’s availability and the current way to view or obtain a copy. The Archives’ local-records-on-microfilm guidance describes research-room use, possible interlibrary loan and purchased copies generally; check whether those options apply to your A3342 roll rather than assuming every roll is loanable.
A useful inquiry contains a compact set of identifiers:
- Building: historical street address and any later address form, with the construction year you can support.
- Archive key: permit number and year, plus A3342 roll reference if staff identified it.
- Needed item: a viewable film image, a copy of that image, or access to a City-held original; these are different requests.
Choose the A3342 film or Albany’s local original
The finding aid says the original plans are held locally rather than at the State Archives. If the film image is hard to read, lacks the sheet you expected, or an original is required for your research purpose, ask the Albany Buildings office about its own copy and access conditions. Keep a City answer about an original and an Archives answer about film separately, with the permit number and any sheet date attached to each. A plan image from this series is historical evidence of a submitted drawing from 1911–1913.
If a roll search has no match, revisit the year and permit number, then ask the relevant custodian to explain the remaining gap. A plan outside this series’ date range belongs to a different search, and other Albany permit or construction records may still exist. Our no-result record-search guide explains how to read a result from one bounded collection.
New York State Archives finding aids, microfilm guidance and Albany Buildings contact information checked September 30, 2026.