Albion Interactive History / Maps / Sanborn Maps

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Sanborn Insurance Maps

No maps are consulted more in academic and public libraries than Sanborn® fire insurance maps–the detailed property and land-use records that depict the grid of everyday life in more than 12,000 U.S. towns and cities across a century of change. Founded in 1867 by D. A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire maps for over 100 years, repeatedly mapping towns and cities as they changed. The maps provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size and shape, construction materials, height, building use, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, house numbers, and more. The plans often include information and shading for steel beams or reinforced walls, plus symbols for stables, garages, warehouses, etc. Factories are labeled with the owner’s name, as well as the products manufactured there. In large industrial and commercial buildings, even individual rooms and their uses are recorded. Also depicted are pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps, and heavy machinery likely to affect the property’s vulnerability to earthquake, fire, and flood.