SanbornCustomerWebDe mo2003

Digital Sanborn Maps1867–1970: 

Digital Sanborn Maps 1867–1970

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WHAT ARE SANBORN MAPS? Original goal: To assist fire insurance agents in assessing the degree of hazard associated with a particular property. Each collection is made up of a uniform series of large-scale maps showing the industrial, commercial, and residential sections of cities in the United States.

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Founded in 1867 by D. A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. Digital Sanborn Maps™ provide online access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps of more than 12,000 American towns and cities. D.A. Sanborn

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SOME FACTS ABOUT SANBORN MAPS… The earliest Sanborn item is the Insurance Map of Boston, which was published in 1867. By the early 1880s, two or three sheets were received for cities in practically every state! In 1905 the Sanborn Company published a Surveyor’s Manual for the Exclusive Use and Guidance of Employees, which included more than 100 pages of specific instruction with sample maps and a comprehensive key. Surveyors and mapmakers worked anonymously, their names never appearing on the maps they produced.

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Each map contains a wealth of information, including: purpose of buildings location, size, and shape of structures construction materials placement of windows, doors, sprinklers names of streets, and house and block numbers Date building built Purpose of structure Building materials Building capacity Night watchman on duty at the Hotel Continental! Building is full of “wire glass” (WG) skylights Washington, D.C., 1927

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BENEFITS and FEATURES Online ease… Users have the ability to manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections, and layer maps from different years. Once displayed, maps can be manipulated, expanded, printed, and downloaded. Sanborn maps are some of the most widely-consulted maps in libraries, and having them online allows more than one patron to use a single map.

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ProQuest has an exclusive agreement with the EDR Sanborn Company to distribute the maps to the library market. Libraries can purchase the entire U.S. set or any combination of states. Available by subscription or permanent access (with annual maintenance fee).

Digital Sanborn Maps1867–1970: 

Digital Sanborn Maps 1867–1970 Using the Interface

Getting There: Using the Interface: 

Getting There: Using the Interface

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Straightforward drop-down menus

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Thumbnails show all sheets. Select Index and/or Key Sheet to find street.

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Index Sheet shows street name for Nickel’s Arcade is on Sheet 13. Digital Sanborn Maps

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Go back to sheets to select sheet 13. Nickel’s Arcade is on Maynard, next to the University School of Music.

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For more detail about Sanborn Maps, click on the link to the legend.

Downloading Sanborn Maps: 

Downloading Sanborn Maps Print maps for better viewing Download maps to Adobe Acrobat for more flexibility

Digital Sanborn Maps1867–1970: 

Digital Sanborn Maps 1867–1970 Applications

What can Users do with Sanborn Maps?: 

What can Users do with Sanborn Maps? Local Historians and Genealogists can use Sanborn Maps Online to locate and identify buildings and neighborhoods. Urban Historians can study the growth of towns and cities, the spread of suburbs, and the decay of urban centers and inner cities. Demographers can chart population shifts and changes in population density Environmentalists can support studies and disputes connected with questions regarding the environmental impact of new development. Economists, economic geographers, and business and economic historians can study the development and movement of industry and commerce in urban areas.

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Using Digital Sanborn Maps, users can locate a historic building and examine its structure, and study the development around it. Washington, D.C., 1888 St. Patrick's Church Oldest parish in the Federal City of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1794 to minister to needs of stonemasons building the White House and the U.S. Capitol Continues to serve needs of downtown Washington

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Washington, D.C., 1888 Washington, D.C., 1927/28 Examine Change over Time Researchers can see that significant renovations have occurred around the church over the thirty-year period.

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Washington, D.C., 1888 The Washington Post in 1888 lists a number of wedding and death Announcements at St. Patrick’s Church, including this article about a “very pretty wedding.” Sanborn Maps provide a level of detail about cities and towns not found in photographs!

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New York Times, Jan. 19, 1915 Bring to life an early twentieth century newspaper crime article about a theater shooting. By examining the map of the theater, users can see what kind of establishments were located nearby, as well as how densely the area was developed at that time.

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The librarians at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota are taking Sanborn Maps to another level, through their perpetual access! THE WINONA STATE PROJECT

Map of Winona, Minnesota: 

Map of Winona, Minnesota Winona State librarians are currently testing a prototype that will allow them to link historical images to their locations on the Sanborn maps

Sanborn Maps: Winona, Minnesota: 

Sanborn Maps: Winona, Minnesota Click on the section you would like to explore A small blue dot indicates if a historical picture is available and linked.

Winona, Minnesotacirca early-1900s: 

Winona, Minnesota circa early-1900s

Winona, Minnesota: 

Winona, Minnesota Click to go to another image! Click on the map to go another section.

The View from La Fayette Street at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: 

The View from La Fayette Street at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

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Sanborn maps are an unrivaled source of information about the use and structure of buildings in American cities in the nineteenth and twentieth century.

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Thank you!