Library Guides: HIST 29639: The Cartographic Imagination in America: Digital Map Collections

Collections of Maps

Maps: Every Foldout Map from National Geographic Magazine on CD-ROM
An archive of every foldout map that has accompanied National Geographic magazine during its first 109 years. Room 370, Map Collection.

Sanborn Geography, 1867-1970 : Illinois This link opens in a new window
Includes most of the fire insurance maps of Illinois produced by the Sanborn Map Company from the mid-1880s to around 1950. Digital collection is searchable by city and date
Produced as aids for insurance companies, these are large-scale plans containing data that can be used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures.
The Library subscription only includes Illinois

Street Atlas USA
Contains U.S.street-level maps. Access to more than twelve million street segments and over one million lakes, ponds, rivers, parks, and railroads. Identifies elevation lines and block numbers of streets. Search by name, block range, town, zip code
National Land Cover database
Click link for detailed description of this resource.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Includes images of maps, photographs, buildings and many other forms of visual culture. Select "Search and Browse for Images" to begin using the database.
Image database covering architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. Select "Search and Browse for Images" to begin using the database.

Historical Maps of the United States
From the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Princeton University's map collection
An exhibition of thematic maps, organized chronologically and thematically.
Compilations of Scanned Maps
From the Map Collection, University of Chicago Library.
Daily Weather Maps of United States
This NOAA site provides access to historical daily weather maps from 1871 thru 2003.
New York Public Library's Digital Collection
Includes thousands of scanned maps.