One of the earliest maps of Miami, this map from 1918, serves as a historical artifact that gives a glimpse of how Miami was developing in the early days, and captures the layout of the city, just 22 years after it was officially incorporated. It was approved by Charles W. Murray, the Miami City Engineer, printed by The Hefty Company and sold by E.B. Douglas Co. of Miami. The map shows the city's layout on both sides of the Miami River, and it displays several city blocks that have been subdivided as well as larger plots of land that were owned by early residents. The map's coverage extends west to the fork in the river and covers the area up to 22nd Street.A notable feature on the map is Miami’s first hotel, built in 1897, the Palm Royal Hotel and Palm Park, which are located just north of the Miami River. The map also shows the location of the US Experimental Grounds, located just west of Mary Brickell's Amended Plat, which extends north to Brickell Point.

The Map of City of Brooklyn, a detailed map of Brooklyn and the village of Williamsburg, created by Matthew Dripps in 1850, provides valuable historical information about the development of Brooklyn in the mid-19th century. It illustrates the streets, coverage of buildings, displays numbered wards, and lot lines. The map also includes illustrations showing major public buildings of the city at the time such as Kings County Prison, Naval Asylum and the City Hall. An important resource for anyone interested in the history of Brooklyn, it was hand-colored to highlight ward boundaries, and was originally printed on two sheets, one for the western portion of the city and one for the eastern portion.

Surveyed by the civil engineer John G. Hales, it is considered to be one of the most accurate maps of the 19th century expansion era, the first to show a comprehensive list of buildings. Different shadings were used to indicate the material from which a building was constructed. It shows property lines, data that, when coupled with those about buildings, provide invaluable information about Federal-period Boston. The map covers the Shawmut peninsula and includes an inset of Boston Neck.

1st map to show all NY lots & buildings. The precursor of the fire maps was first published by Perris in 1852, and later, it was published by Sanborn and Bromley. This is the 2nd edition. The border has views of important city buildings.

Captain John Bonner's map of Boston, created before the city's coastline was altered by landfill, combines plan and perspective views to depict settlement patterns and the city's thriving maritime economy. The shipping in the harbor is meticulously illustrated, while the topography is simplified. The map also highlights areas where Native American artifacts were discovered, showcasing the history of the land before European settlement in 1630. This map includes a list of buildings with the year of their construction, a list of fires in the city from 1653 to 1711 and a list of occurrences of smallpox.

Considered to be one of the best visual records of pre-Revolutionary Boston, this map is an updated version of the map first published by John Bonner in 1722. After his death in 1726, his partner William Price assumed sole ownership of the Boston Plan, to which he added a decorative cartouche, and numerous streets in the south and west and along Boston Neck. Like the original one from 1722, this map includes a list of buildings with the year of their construction, a list of fires in the city from 1653 to 1711 and a list of occurrences of smallpox.

The Centennial Map of Concord, created by H.W. Blaisdell in 1875, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Concord, a pivotal event in the American Revolutionary War. This detailed map distinguishes between buildings and structures that existed in 1775 and those present in 1875. It also shows the route of the centennial procession held on April 19, 1875.The map provides valuable historical insights by naming landowners and highlighting the locations of significant structures from both periods. Relief is shown by hachures, adding a topographical element to the map.

The map prepared by the local committee for the use of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It includes key to buildings in and about College Yard and a list of Harvard buildings more than a century old, and other places of interest in Cambridge.

Shows city wards and lines, some buildings, and radial distances from City Hall. Relief shown by contours.From: The Cambridge directory, 1895. Oriented with north toward the upper left. On verso: advertisements.

Using conventional cartographic techniques and orientation, the artist views Cambridge from the south southwest as if he hovers above Brighton looking north across the Charles River. His presentation includes all of Cambridge, encompassing its several neighborhoods and their varied functions. The original village center focusing on Harvard Square and Harvard University is positioned just right of center, while Cambridgeport with its numerous commercial activities clustered around Central Square is placed left of center. Meanwhile, East Cambridge with its industrial activities is located in the upper right hand corner of the drawing. An extensive directory lists 132 references. Thirty-two of these, representing the city hall, the county court house, and the churches, are numbered and located on the view. However, the remaining entries, recording an extensive number of commercial and industrial establishments, are not keyed to the view although their addresses are indicated. Interestingly, this view was not a comprehensive listing of industrial activity. The several brick yards prominently displayed on the left side of the view are not enumerated, nor is the city's largest employer, the New England Glass Company, which is distinctly depicted in the upper right hand corner north of the Boston and Lowell Railroad. During its short existence in the 1870s, the Franklin View Company produced only two urban views this one and an 1873 view of Gloucester. Their style was noticeably different from the typical bird's eye view. They combined elements of a conventional map with the currently popular bird's eye view, in that the street pattern was replicated with little distortion, while the buildings were shown in three dimensions and the horizon displayed a high oblique perspective.

Mapping controls our perception and impacts the way we understand our environment. In the past, the map itself was a precious object. Used by property owners to define boundaries, by the military to fight wars, by explorers for navigation, and by municipalities to fight fires - the embodied an extraordinary investment of time and resources that gave the owner the power to shape the world. With technological advances like GIS, Google Maps and smart phone technology, the relationship between the map and its user changed dramatically. No longer a precious object, new maps are generated constantly and instantaneously. Access has been expanded from several hundred to millions. Even the ownership and creation of maps has shifted toward the user with the advent of customization and consumer input. This new technology marks a fundamental shift not only in the map as object but also in its power to influence perception. Map-making is an exercise in choice. The vast information available on a given site’s historical and cultural make-up presents a unique and challenging task: how to capture the essence of a place and communicate that intangible quality to an audience. By definition, the process necessitates a curatorial and selective approach. Layering, comparison and mash-up are effective tools, juxtaposing historical data with current cultural trends, but even complex data is limited to what the mapmaker's can feasibly incorporate. Before the internet, a map was an object frozen in time by the printing process, the mapmaker's choices fixed permanently in place. Today, instantaneous access to a mobile database — the app — has fundamentally altered this problem. Choice, while still a curatorial exercise, is no longer static: it is a dialogue between the city, the user and the mapmaker. Many cities and organizations are embracing this wealth of digital technology to make their environments more accessible. Downloadable maps are readily available to the casual tourist, cell phone tours have proliferated in the historical districts, and QR codes are plastered on the side of buildings and products, all in an attempt to engage both the visitor and the resident in the built environment. cultureNOW has collapsed these tools into one seamless program, allowing the user to navigate a city with text, photos and audio at their fingertips. This exhibition views Boston through the lens of cultureNOW’s Museum Without Walls. Merging historical data with the power of smartphone technology, the gallery highlights Boston's development, while also capturing the city in the moment. It allows the user to meet some of the artists, architects, historians, planners and visionaries who have shaped Boston, and in so doing, understand the shape of Boston itself. Like the Museum Without Walls, this map is a work in progress. In conjunction with the cultureNOW app, it is part of the continuous process of defining a city. As cultureNOW expands its database and deepens its understanding of Boston, this map will change and adapt. This is a snapshot of BostonNOW. Curated by:Abby Suckle FAIAIngrid BengtsonSayli KorgaonkarEduardo M. Llinás-MeseguerJosh SchecterDavid GiglioJuliet Gensemer Anna Heineman Advisory Council:Franziska Amacher AIALawrence A. Chan FAIAKarin GoodfellowMark FavermannDavid Fixler FAIAAlex Krieger FAIAPeter Kuttner FAIAJohn PowellScott Simpson FAIAJane Weinzapfel FAIAPeter VanderwarkerEric White Collaborating Organizations:American Institute of Architects, NY ChapterBoston by FootBoston Art CommissionBoston Harbor AssocationBoston Harbor Island AllianceBoston Preservation AllianceBoston Society of ArchitectsCambridge Art CouncilFenway AllianceHarvard University Graduate School of DesignLightBostonMIT Public ArtMIT SENSEable City Lab With Special Thanks To:Alex Anmahian  •   Ann Beha FAIA  •   B.K. Boley AIA  •   Fred Brink  •   Lance Brown FAIA  •   Robert Campbell FAIA  •   Harry Cobb FAIA  •   Andrew Cohen  •   Arthur Cohen  •   Preston Scott Cohen  •   Lee Cott  •   Katelyn Cotter  •   Emily Curran  •   Howard Elkus FAIA  •   Terri Evans  •   Tory Fair  •   Ann Feineman  •   Robert Fleming  •   Beth Galston  •   Urs Gauchat  •   Dimitri Gerakaris  •   Shauna Gillies Smith  •   Jane Goldman  •   Roger Goldstein FAIA  •   Stephanie Greenfield  •   Graham Gund FAIA  •   Frances Gretes  •   Jason Hart  •   Mags Harries  •   Brian Healy  •   Lajos Heder  •   Thomas M. Hotaling AIA  •   Eric Höweler AIA  •   Sarah Hutt  •   Steven Imrich AIA  •   Chris Johns  •   Joyce Koslow  •   Kathy Kottaridis  •   Yugon Kim  •   Rick Kobus FAIA  •   Michelle Laboy AIA  •   Christina Lanzl  •   David Lee FAIA  •   Andrea Leers FAIA  •   Mara Lippman  •   Helen Lissack  •   Tim Love AIA  •   David Manfredi FAIA  •   Todd McKie  •   William Menking  •   Ross Miller  •   Mark Pasnik AIA  •   John Powell  •   Michael Kubo  •   Keith Morgan  •   Charles Redmon FAIA  •   Robert Roche  •   Charles Rose FAIA  •   Tamara Roy AIA  •   Warren Schwartz FAIA  •   Nancy Schön  •   Nancy Seasholes  •   Nancy Selvage  •   Douglass Shand-Tucci  •   Jorge Silvetti  •   Josiah Stevenson  •   Maryann Thompson FAIA  •   Peter Vanderwaker  •   Clara Wainwright  •   Carole Wedge FAIA  •   Jason Weeks  •   Heidi Whitman  •   Elise Woodward

The mission of cultureNOW is to promote civic awareness of and interest in our culturally rich environment of New York City. The free downtownNOW Map grew out of the work of New York/New Visions (NYNV) Design Coalition for the Rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, a volunteer effort by professional design organizations in response to the tragic events of September 11th. The map was an effort to demonstrate the rich cultural resources of downtown that had remained after 9/11. It was first printed in January, 2002 with subsequent updated editions in June, 2002, September, 2002, September, 2003, and October, 2006 that together have provided cultural snapshots of downtown as it recovers.

In 2004, cultureNOW began working on its second mapping project, a public art map of Manhattan. The map is meant to celebrate the art that surrounds us that we see everyday. By defining public art as art paid for by a public agency or visible from a public space, we were able to locate over 1500 works of permanent art.The physical map, published in 2007, is depicted on this page. There are a few remaining copies which may be purchased. Since then the content itself : the artworks, and podcasts has been fully integrated into the cultureNOW website and app.

Lower Manhattan has effectively been America’s town square since its discovery in 1524. Virtually every major event of local, national and global significance has played out in some way on this stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. This is both a project in urban archeology and a way of describing the city over time in a printed map. The map captures the multiple and overlapping stories that are woven throughout our city’s life in a single document. It embraces America’s history as the museums, monuments and memorials that dot its streetscape do.   It highlights many of the concerns, events and places that the people who lived, fought, worked and visited here thought were important at their moment in time.   It takes another look at the issues that they were preoccupied with and how they solved them:  their politics, religion, social protest, health and safety, commerce, disasters and defense, scandals and crime, education, publications, art and culture, parades and celebrations, architecture and engineering. It encapsulates the events that shaped the physical and cultural landscape within the changing geography at the water’s edge. And it raises questions that need to be considered as we plan a more resilient city in our future.  

The map of New York City and Manhattan, created by the commissioners appointed by the legislature and surveyor William Bridges, depicts ward boundaries, significant buildings, and the names of property owners. It is oriented with north towards the upper right and includes numbered references to various locations within the city. Often referred to as the "single most important document in New York City's development," the map was praised by the commission for its combination of "beauty, order and convenience" due to its use of the grid plan.

A waterfront tour around Manhattan that begins at Chelsea Piers and circles the island of Manhattan.

In conjunction with the installation of Wall Drawing #599, the JCC will present Sol LeWitt: Shaping Ideas , an exhibition in The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery. A consideration of LeWitt's deep understanding of surface and depth, color and form, Sol LeWitt: Shaping Ideas includes drawings, prints, posters, photos, videos and an interactive map to put the JCC's Wall Drawing in context. cultureNOW has contributed a map illustrating Sol Lewitt's installations in Manhattan.

The Mannahatta Project was an urban ecological study to imagine what Manhattan would be like if there were no settlers.  

Prior to New York City's Commissioners' Plan of 1811, the city's Common Council in 1797 commissioned city surveyors Casimir Goerck and Mangin to survey the streets of the city; Goerck died of yellow fever during the course of the surveying, but Mangin completed it and delivered the draft of the Mangin–Goerck Plan to the Council in 1799 for correction of street names; the final engraved version would be presented to the Council in 1803. Unfortunately, Mangin had gone beyond the terms of the commission, and the map not only showed the existing streets of the city, but also, in Mangin's words, "the City ... such as it is to be..." In other words, the plan was a guide to where Mangin believed future streets should be laid out.The Council accepted the Mangin–Goerck Plan as "the new Map of the City" for four years, and even published it by subscription, until political machinations perhaps organized by Aaron Burr, the political enemy of Mangin's mentor Alexander Hamilton, brought the plan into disrepute, and the Council ordered that copies which had already been sold be bought back, and that a label warning of "inaccuracies" be placed on any additional copies sold. Nevertheless, as the city grew, the Mangin–Goerck Plan became the de facto reference for where new streets would be built, and when the Commissioners' Plan was revealed in 1811, the area of the plan which the public had been warned was inaccurate and speculative, had been accepted wholesale by the commission, their plan being almost identical to Mangin's in that area.

This map, titled "Plan of the City of New York in North America," was published in 1776 by Bernard Ratzer and engraved by Thomas Kitchin. Surveyed in 1766-67, it includes detailed information about parts of present-day New York City - Manhattan below 60th Street, Brooklyn north of 30th Street and west of Union Avenue, a small part of modern Queens and Jersey City, New Jersey. It depicts built-up and cultivated areas, streets, rural roads, buildings, piers, streams, ponds, wetlands, relief by hachures, and depths by soundings. It also has a dedication to Sir Henry Moore, the then Governor of New York, and a key to various churches and public buildings. Additionally, it comprises a southwest view of the City of New York, taken from the Governors Island, based on a work by Thomas Davies.

Aerial Photo of the Commons with Foley Square behind

The Castello Plan of New Amsterdam is a map of the early Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, which later became New York City. The map was created in 1660 by Jacques Cortelyou, General Governor of Nieuw Amsterdam at that time, and is one of the earliest surviving maps of New Amsterdam. The map shows the layout of the settlement, including the locations of streets, buildings, and fortifications. It also includes illustrations of various landmarks and features of the city, such as the town hall, the church, and the governor's house. The Castello Plan is an important historical document as it provides a detailed record of the early development of New Amsterdam and is one of the few surviving primary sources from this period of the city's history. It is now housed in the New York Historical Society in New York City. It was discovered in 1900 at the Villa di Castello near Florence, Italy, where it had remained. Shown here is the version that was redrawn by John Wolcott Adams and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes, and given its current name in 1916.

 The print contains 18 small views: High Bridge ; South Ferry ; City Hall ; Castle Garden ; Croton Reservoir ; Grace Church ; Institution for the Blind ; Post Office ; Merchants Exchange ; Astor-Place Opera-House ; Barnum's Museum & Astor Hose ; Halls of Justice (Tombs) ; Bowling Green ; Astor Library ; Custom House ; Odd Fellows Hall ; University ; Trinity Church.

John Montresor’s map titled “A Plan of the City of New-York & its Environs” is a significant historical document created in 1766. This detailed map covers the area from Greenwich on the North or Hudsons River to Crown Point on the East or Sound River, showcasing the layout of streets, public buildings, docks, fortifications, and batteries. It also depicts the topography and strategic commanding grounds in and around the city.The map is notable for its scale, approximately 1:6,300, and includes an inset chart showing the entrance to New York from Sandy Hook, highlighting the best channels for sailing along with the banks and depths of water. It was dedicated to the Honorable Thomas Gage and provides a fascinating glimpse into the urban landscape of New York City during the mid-18th century, just before the American Revolution.Montresor was an engineer, and his work reflects the military and strategic importance of New York at the time, with relief shown by hachures and a clear indication of the city’s defenses. The map is part of the collection at the Library of Congress and is a valuable resource for historians and anyone interested in the early cartography of New York City.

Creator: W. WilliamsPublisher: D. Appleton & Co.

Chandler view of New Amsterdam in 1660: the present southern end of Manhattan Island, New York City

Manuscript maps of New-Netherland and Manhattan drawn on the spot by Joan Vingboons in 1639

CultureNOW began working with Inglewood in 2014 for a 2016 website launch. The team:Abby Suckle, Team Leader, Board PresidentAnne Lewison, Architect, cultureNOW BoardMark Favermann, Favermann Design, cultureNOW BoardDiana Darling, Publisher The Architects Newspaper, cultureNOW BoardDiana Pardue Chief, Museum Services, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, National Park Service, cultureNOW BoardAnna Heineman, Collection Manager cultureNOW’s MuseumWithout WallsKarolina Kurek, Project ManagerPaula Narvaez, ResearchEric Nishioka, Graphic DesignDavid Roy, Photographer

The Map of the City of St. Louis by Rene Paul Esquire was first issued in 1842 and later updated in 1844. Rene Paul, who was the city surveyor, compiled this map using information available to him at the time.The map was published by Twichel & Cook and engraved by T. Twichel at the office of J.T. Hammond in St. Louis, Missouri. It features detailed engravings, including three vignettes of buildings and a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The map is color-coded by ward and includes a table of population statistics and a key to important buildings.This historical map is known for its exquisite coloring and detailed representation of St. Louis during that period. It is considered a valuable piece of cartographic history and is part of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.

Sites after 1900 that are located along the tour route are overlaid on the current GIS map.

The Map of the Town of Providence by Daniel Anthony, created in 1823, is a detailed representation of Providence, Rhode Island, based on an actual survey. This historical map highlights various buildings and residences, with the names of the owners indicated. It includes an index to selected buildings and points of interest, as well as inset views of the harbor, Hope College, and University Hall. The title is embellished with a decorative cartouche, adding to its visual appeal. The map was entered according to the Act of Congress on December 15, 1823, by Daniel Anthony of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. This valuable document provides insights into the layout and important landmarks of Providence in the early 19th century.

The "Map of Cleveland and Vicinity" was created by the Forman-Bassett Company around 1920. This map provides a detailed view of Cleveland, Ohio, and its surrounding areas. It includes circles showing radial distances and a red overprint indicating streetcar lines and house numbers. The map is accompanied by a booklet titled "1920-1921 Street Directory and Map Index of Cleveland and Suburbs," which lists all streets and points of interest.The map itself measures approximately 55 x 102 cm and is part of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection at the Boston Public Library. It's a fascinating historical artifact that offers a glimpse into the urban layout and transportation infrastructure of early 20th-century Cleveland.

The “Sewer Map of the City of Oakland” from 1880 is a detailed map that illustrates the sizes and depths of the city’s sewer system, as well as the grades of streets. Created as part of a report on the social statistics of cities, this map provides valuable insights into the infrastructure and urban planning of Oakland during that period. It highlights the importance of the sewer system in the city’s development and offers a historical perspective on public health and sanitation efforts in the late 19th century.

The "Canal Map of the State of New York" from 1912 accompanied the State Engineer and Surveyor's report for that year. It shows the path of the new Barge Canal in relation to the existing Erie Canal and other routes in the state's canal system. The map also identifies abandoned canals and canals retained as feeders, and includes an inset with an elevation chart of the Barge Canal. It's a historical document that provides insight into the development and expansion of New York's canal system in the early 20th century.

The 'General Map of the City of New York' measuring 27 ft. x 31 ft., the largest of an American city every executed and completed in 6 months - was unveiled at the Paris Exposition of 1900 by Chief Engineer of NY City's Topographical Bureau Louis Aloys Risse.

Map made by Adriaen Block of his 1614 expedition to North America. It is the first map to show Long Island as an island. It is also the first appearance of the term New Netherland to describe the colony (17th century drawing).

This colored map of Los Angeles, surveyed and created by the cartographer Henry J. Stevenson in 1884, shows the incorporated areas of Los Angeles, including the tracts, names of property owners, and landmarks.

This map, produced under the direction of Egbert L. Viele, a Topographical Engineer, depicts the original waterways of Manhattan Island with the street grid overlaid. It also distinguishes between three types of land: marsh, made land, and meadow, and includes information on sewer lines. The map includes three cross sections and an inset map of the northern tip of the island. Despite being copyrighted by Viele in 1865, Haskell and Stokes list the date of the map's creation as 1864. It was originally included in the Report of the Council of Hygiene and is known for its full color design, despite its practical subject matter. In 1874, Viele republished the map in a larger format as the Topographical Atlas of the City of New York.

The General Map of Charleston Harbor from 1865, shows rebel defenses and obstructions during the American Civil War. It was prepared under directions from Rear Admiral JA Dahlgren, by CO Boutelle, drawn by Eugene Willenbücher and had lithography at the US Coast Survey by CG Krebs. The map notes that the survey of the channels, fortifications etc. was made after the occupation of the Harbor by the U.S. Naval forces and includes a table of armament of rebel forts. The map also shows a plan of the city, location of shipwrecks, torpedoes and obstructions, roads, and railroads.

Shows topography by hachures, vegetation, drainage, roads, railroads, houses, stonewalls, cultivated areas, churches, and cemeteries. Union and Confederate positions are shown, including the location of the artillery. Confederate corps are named; Union forces are given in more detail, including names of some division commanders. Shows the Union breast works and cavalry positions. The map was prepared by William H. Willcox, Captain & ADC on Major General Reynolds Staff.

The “Plan showing the boundaries of the great Conflagration of New Orleans on the 21st of March, 1788” is a historical map that illustrates the extent of the devastating fire that swept through New Orleans. Created in the late 1800s, this facsimile map highlights the settled parts of the town with darker shading and indicates where the fire started and which buildings escaped the blaze. The map provides valuable insights into the urban layout of New Orleans at the time and the impact of the fire on the city’s development.