Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

How did something as boring as maps for insurance companies become one of the highest-traffic items on the Library of Congress's website? Because these maps were accidentally telling the stories of the cities they depicted -- cities that were growing, changing, and sometimes withering away...

You can look for Sanborn maps of your town or city in digital collection of the Library of Congress here.

You can find more information about the history of the Sanborn collection at Cal State Northridge here.

For more information on this episode and more Artifactual podcast content, visit artifactualpodcast.com.

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