About Digital Collections
Browse
Search only public domain materials
Search Browse About
Search only public domain materials
Items Collections Divisions
Digital Collections Using Images Using Data
Collections Kay Zakariasen Greek Diners collection
 

Kay Zakariasen Greek Diners collection

Navigation About Filters

This collection is also available in Archives & Manuscripts
View In Archives »

Collection Data

Description
Kay Zakariasen (born 1948, Nebraska) is a New York City-based photographer and magazine editor. The collection holds materials created by Zakariasen for a 1976 photo-essay about Greek restaurant workers in New York City. Her files hold 400 color slides, copy negatives, photocopies, interview transcripts, and research compiled for the project. The collection is arranged into five groupings comprised of Restaurants and Diners; Bakers; Street Vendors; Grocers; and Research and Notes. All the files contain photographic material and notes about each subject, except the research and notes file, which only includes paper material. The Restaurants and Diners grouping is arranged by individual establishment, in the order that Zakariasen maintained her files. Each file contains the original slides, as well as copy negatives and photocopies of a selection of images. Each file also contains a transcription of an interview with the owner or worker. Each transcript also notes the interviewee's name, where they lived in Greece, and the location and name of the diner. In addition to the individual restaurants, there is a folder of assorted slides depicting the exteriors of establishments. The Bakers, Street Vendors, and Grocers files contain slides, copy negatives, and interview transcripts. However, each group is contained in a single folder and mainly features only one or two businesses. Zakariasen's research files includes the survey from the Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC), correspondence with the HANAC Director, and Zakariasen's notes about the project, including captions, and the order of the collection.
Names
Zakariasen, Kay, 1948- (Creator)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1976 - 1977
Library locations
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Shelf locator: MssCol 186206
Topics
Diners (Restaurants) -- New York (State) -- New York
Greek Americans
Immigrants -- New York Metropolitan Area
New York (N.Y.)
Genres
Photographs
Documents
transcripts
Notes
Biographical/historical: Kay Zakariasen is a photographer and Picture Editor at Natural History Magazine, an American Museum of Natural History publication. While studying photojournalism at the University of Minnesota in 1976, Zakariasen (her professional name was then Kay Caranicas) photographed and interviewed Greek immigrants in New York City who owned or managed restaurants, diners, bakeries, and grocery stores, as well as individuals who worked as street vendors. Most of the interviews Zakariasen conducted covered the experiences of Greek immigrants working in the restaurant business, their lives in Greece, and when they came to America. Most of the locations in this photo essay are in Manhattan, with some diners in Astoria, Queens. According to a 1972 survey conducted by the Hellenic-American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) Job Placement department, 92% of diners in the five boroughs of New York City and surrounding areas were owned or managed by Greek immigrants.
Acquisition: Donated by Kay Zakariasen in 2022.
Physical Description
Negatives
Slides
Extent: 0.42 linear feet (1 box)
Type of Resource
Still image
Text
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b23007545
MSS Unit ID: 186206
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 11343050-fbd8-013b-2266-0242ac110004
Show filters Hide filters
562 results found