Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
| This source consists of a uniform series of large scale maps
dating from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. These atlases provide
detailed, accurate information about the physical structure
of cities and towns, including building density, patterns of
land use, degrees of formal and informal zoning, etc. They can
be used in conjunction with the U.S.
Federal Manuscript Census to reconstruct the built environment
in which urban residents lived. This is a particularly valuable
source for urban and social history, sociology, public health,
and women's studies. Published by the Sanborn Map company, these
maps were originally prepared for the exclusive use of fire
insurance companies and underwriters to assist fire insurance
agents in determining the degree of hazard associated with a
particular property. They graphically display the size, shape,
and construction of dwellings, commercial buildings, and factories
as well as fire walls, location of windows and doors, sprinklers,
and types of roofs. They also indicate road widths, street names,
property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers
as well as locations of water mains (including their dimensions),
and of fire alarm boxes and hydrants. Our collection of the
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps on microfilm primarily covers
states of the U.S. West. To see if the library has the particular
city that you need, search the
Library Catalog and select keywords. Type Sanborn
and the name of the city and state desired. It is best to include
the state since there are a few cities in various states that
have the same name -- Las Vegas, Nevada and Las Vegas, New Mexico.
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