Access building plans at the City Archives

The City Archives holds Building Inspector's reports from 1879 to 1903 and plans submitted with permits for new construction and alterations from 1902-1969.  No building plans, drawings, or reports for pre-1879 buildings exist in the Archives. The Building Inspector's reports usually do not include a full set of plans.

Some records may be missing or incomplete. This is especially true if you are searching for records that date before 1900.

Some street names and street numbers have changed. There may also be streets with the same name in different City neighborhoods. For example, "Washington Street" is used in many different neighborhoods.

The Massachusetts State Archives has building plans for some buildings with public spaces. To browse their digitized card index of plans, visit their digital repository.

To search for Building Inspector reports, proceed to Step 2.

To search for Building plans, proceed to Step 3.

The City Archives holds bound volumes of Building Inspector reports from 1879-1903. Upon completion, buildings were inspected by the City. The report includes information similar to a building permit application including the owner, architect, type of materials, dimensions and other physical aspects of the building. The Building Inspector's reports usually do not include a full set of plans but many do include at least a floor plan for one floor.

An index for the Building Inspector reports was created in the early 1980s. We have scanned the index cards and made them available for searching below. Please note several volumes have gone missing since the creation of the index and prior to the transfer to City Archives custody. Be sure to search for the original street address as written on the original building permit.

Index to Building Inspector reports, 1879-1903

For plans submitted circa 1902-1969, the Building Department filed the plans in "bins". Our archivists need the bin number, also called the file number, to find your building plans. The bin number can usually be found handwritten on long form building permits starting sometime after 1920. The Archives does have a card index for the plans, circa 1902-1948.  After 1948, the bin number can only be found on the long form permit. The bin number includes one letter (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, M, N, O, P or R) followed by one to three digits.

Searching for the bin number online

You can find building permits for existing buildings online in the Inspectional Services Department's database.  To narrow the search, use the right drop down arrow in the "Document Type" line and select "Long Form Permit." Plans were submitted with long form permits only.  Plans were not submitted with short form permits. The bin number is usually found on the front cover or flipside of the long form permit which, in the database, follows the permit. The cover will appear sideways. Rotate it and look for a bin number in the lower left corner (one letter and one to three digits — for example, P47 or R231.)

Bin numbers are often in the "File number" or next to the "Plan number" field of the permit. See the examples below:

After you find your volume/page number or bin number, please complete an online request form:

Make an online request

Make A Request In Your Preferred Language

Our archivists will search for the plans and notify you of the search results within five to ten days. We may find blueprints, architectural plans, plot plans, or a Building Inspector's report with information about the additions, repairs, or renovations that have been done to the property.

• Building Inspector's reports date from 1879-1903, but there are some gaps. The reports are bound in volumes and organized by year. The information is similar to the information in building permits. However, the reports give information about the building as it was built and not as it was proposed. 
• Blueprints and plans date from 1902 to 1969. Some building plans are so fragile that we can't unroll them without destroying them. 
• Our collection is incomplete. Plans may have been lost or misfiled over time. It is possible we may not find anything for the address you have requested even when we have a bin number.

When we contact you with your search results, you may make an appointment to visit the Archives and view the documents. The City Archives is located at 201 Rivermoor Street in West Roxbury. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

You may bring your phone or camera to take photographs without flash of the blueprints. Unfortunately, because the blueprints are fragile, we cannot have them professionally reproduced.