Maps and Atlases
Sanborn Fire Insurance
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are highly detailed city plans providing researchers with a wealth of information about urban change in American cities. These maps were originally produced between 1867 and 1970 for the purpose of assessing risk and cost of insurance. The highly detailed plans were drawn at a scale of 50 feet/inch (1:600), printed in color, and record detailed information about streets, businesses, residences, building materials, and utilities.
In Spring 2003, NCSU Libraries acquired access via ProQuest to the entire U.S. collection through an interactive application which allows the user to view the maps online and as well as download PDF versions. ProQuest has taken the Chadwyck-Healey Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps microfilm collection, some 660,000 maps, and enhanced and digitized the maps. Since the maps have been digitized from the microfilm version, the ProQuest product is in black & white rather than in color as were the original paper maps. The Libraries additionally acquired from ProQuest the original TIFF files of the North Carolina maps.
Portion of NCSU Campus, 1914
Location and Access
Sanborn maps covering the United States are available to researchers through the NC LIVE Web site, with the ability to easily manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections, and compare maps from different years. Access through the NC LIVE website requires that your web browser is coming from an ncsu.edu domain.
The collection includes 11,173 large-scale maps of 158 North Carolina towns and cities. Click here for a list of NC maps available and their coverage dates (PDF, file size = 39 kb).
For users who prefer to use TIFF images of the maps rather than ProQuest's interface, see the Historical Data and Maps page.
If you are not a faculty, student, or staff of NC State University, but live in North Carolina, contact your local public library to see if they are connected to NC LIVE. Outside of NC, contact your public or school library and inquire about access to Proquest Sanborn Maps.
Contact
For more information, please ask at the D. H. Hill Reference Desk or contact:
- Jeff Essic
- Data Services Librarian
- (919) 515-5698
- jeff_essic@ncsu.edu
|
