The Board of Water Supply used models for design and celebration, from critically serious to comical and extravagant. Models were communication tools, explaining and promoting the City’s infrastructure projects, and sometimes helped determine the locations of structures or best way to build them. This story starts with some technical models, then looks at those that celebrated NYC’s water supply system and world-class engineering.

The 1898 consolidation of all five boroughs as one unified City of New York brought the population from 2 million to 3.4 million people and intensified the need for more water. In 1905, the City established a Board of Water Supply to plan and build a new system of reservoirs and tunnels that would ensure access to clean water for the growing population. The next year, the Board started planning the Catskill Aqueduct and installed a laboratory at 147 Varick Street to test equipment and building materials, and to analyze water and soil samples. The Board also hired a photographer to document this monumental project, and put the photo lab here to print and store thousands of images.

And just like that, another year here at Urban Archive is coming to a close in just a few short days! We've asked our partners to pick some of their favorite stories, images, and facts they encountered this year to share with you. Check them out below!