Summertime is a Time for Travel: Maps for Today and Yesterday

Well, it may not be a collection of historical maps; but it’s pretty darn amazing. Maps and satellite images (varying in levels of detail by locality) are linked in Google’s new map resource and as you drag your way across either a map or a satellite image, you can toggle seamlessly between the two. Urban satellite images are good enough so-- in the case of large buildings – very basic details are often discernable. Your place of residence will not come up in “detail,” but you’ll be able to pin point it on the map and on the satellite image. Great Britain, Ireland, and Canada are covered and often where maps are not available, much of the remainder of the globe is viewable in satellite images (which vary in detail). At this level much of the world “has not changed much.” There are, of course, historical map collections, but we’ll consider those at another time; although you might begin with this About.Com page, http://geography.about.com/od/historicmaps/. Also, visit the Perry-Castaneda map collection at the University of Texas, Austin, http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/index.html and the resource maintained by The History Cooperative at http://www.historycooperative.org/elibrary/hw/maps.html. Use Google at: http://maps.google.com/. This is not, however, a review or comment on using Google for your next road trip.

If you’d like to travel back in Buffalo-time, try the digital Sanborn maps of Buffalo (the rest of New York State’s cities and towns as available, including New York City) at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/sanborn_maps.html. From the Web site: “Sanborn fire insurance maps are the most frequently consulted maps in both public and academic libraries. Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods. They are large-scale plans containing data that can be used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures. This includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. The maps also give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. Seven or eight different editions represent some areas.”