The archives of Baruch College house several interesting collections which are under the umbrella of New York City history. Our institutional archives, the IPA collection, the MAC collection, the Bigel collection are all unified by helping to tell the story of our city. The Durst Collection consists of hundreds of volumes, some of which date to the late 18th and early 19th century and provide information about the history of New York City and State, often from first hand accounts.

This blog will be highlighting some of the treasures from the Durst Collection on the shelves of our archives. We hope that this blog creates interest in the story of New York City history and the many research opportunities that can be further explored at the Baruch College Archives.

Mr. Durst was a New York City real estate investor and developer who began collecting in 1962 and filled his multi-story brownstone with books and other New York City memorabilia. The majority of his collection is now being housed at the Avery Library at Columbia University, after a thirteen year stint at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.