Using Historical Maps


  • Topographic maps

    In the United States the most important set of topographic maps created since the end of the 19th century has been produced by the US Geological Survey. Although these maps were primarily intended to show topographic features, they can be extremely usef ul in studying the distribution of buildings in the landscape. Before World War II these maps showed buildings in both rural and urban areas. Since World War II, they have tended to use a pink tint for buildings in built up areas.

  • Plat Maps

    These are maps created to show land subdivision. The municipal authorities in which the subdivision occurs usually require a copy to be filed. For this reason the best way to find a particular plat is usually to go to the city or village hall. In Chica go the place to go is the Bureau of Maps and Plats. Subdivisions can be modified and re-subdivided, however, creating a dense overlay of information. This is reflected in the atlases published over the years which show a given area with record of all of the existing plats in force at the time, often with land ownership indicated.

  • Street Maps

    Street maps are the most familiar kind of map. Chicago publishers, particularly the Rand McNally Company, have played a major role in the evolution of this kind of map.

  • Fire Insurance Maps

    For the study of the built environment, the fire insurance company atlases often provide the easiest access to the largest amount of information. Created to help insurance agents judge the risk involved in insuring properties of all kinds, they give a w ealth of material about the location of buildings, their footprint, their materials and configuration. In the most detailed of these maps building materials are indicated by the use of various colors of water color applied to the building outlines and in formation about building heights, uses, fenestration, heating plants and other aspects of the building is indicated by labels and symbols. A key at the beginning of each volume explains the system used in that map. One thing to check carefully is the h istory of revisions. Although an atlas might bear the date 1899, the year it was first published, it is important to look to see if there were later revisions. Since the atlases were so labor intensive to make and so expensive, the companies often updat ed them rather than published entirely new atlases. To do this they sent agents to the cities to check on new developments. These were drawn on pieces of paper that were then pasted into the old books. The date of the last revision is effectively the d ate of the information in the album. Although there were many fire insurance atlas publishers in the United States in the late 19th century, by the early 20th century, the field was dominated by one company, the Sanborn company. The largest collection of fire insurance atlases is found at the Library of Congress, where copies of these atlases were deposited for copyright purposes. In recent years a large number of these maps has been reproduced by various companies. For Illinois the Chadwyck Healey Company has reproduced a great many San born fire insurance atlases on microfilm. At UIC these sets can found on the third floor in the microforms area. Unfortunately, they are reproduced in black and white, but it is still usually possible to distinguish the various colors indicating buildin g materials.

    The most important collection of original fire insurance atlases in the Chicago area can be found at the library of the Chicago Historical Society. There are also a number of atlases at UIC. The Ricker Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana al so has a very large collection.

  • Public Transportation Route Maps

  • Panoramic Maps

    Panoramic maps are more commonly called "bird's-eye views." Popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they were graphical celebrations of the city, often designed to sell its topographic virtues to potential settlers. In the case of larger cities like Chicago, the bird's-eyes served as mementoes and tourist items. Often distributed nationally and internationally, they were framed and appeared in places of honor in homes and offices.