Leventhal Map & Education Center

By the 20th century, digital technologies had replaced the older, manual mapmaking processes of copperplate engraving and lithography. However, visual techniques first developed in the mid-19th century, such as shading variations, were still employed in thematic maps.

Stay warm out there!

This map illustrates monthly average temperatures for the United States from 1931–1960 using isotherms and a color scale from cold blues to warm reds.

The large map in the center shows daily mean high and low temperatures during January, April, July and October for major cities across the country.

Yes, New England has had COLD winters before ... 🧊❄️🥶

Map: U.S. Geological Survey, "Mean monthly average temperature" (1986): buff.ly/rEUu47f

#bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

The mountain’s summit, with precisely-drawn buildings, road, and railroad, is the central focus. The landscape around the summit is then distorted into a circular projection. This visually-rich map would have drawn visitors up to the top of New England's highest peak.

Although described as a bird’s-eye view, this colorful presentation provides a fish-eye or 360º panoramic perspective. It projects the topography of Mount Washington from a single vantage point directly above the mountain.

You've never seen Mt. Washington like this 🤩🗻

Check out our virtual reality immersive view of this panorama: buff.ly/TdcHrjH

Map: George H. Walker & Co.; Boston and Maine Railroad, "Birds-eye view from summit of Mt. Washington; White Mountains, New Hampshire" (1902): buff.ly/bW4XfJO

Bending Lines: Maps and Data from Distortion to Deception An exhibition at the Leventhal Map & Education Center

Read more in our digital exhibition "Bending Lines" buff.ly/WhrIEoq

Map: John C. Mulford, "National highways map of the United States showing principal transcontinental highways and connecting system of one hundred thousand miles of national highways proposed by the National Highways Association" (1915): buff.ly/xnPc5GA

The map detail how this proposed network that would serve 99.8% of the population and support homeland defense and quick travel. Prior to the construction of national highways, it could have taken a month or more to travel across the country via automobile over dirt roads and disconnected routes.

Published shortly before the US entered into WW1, the banner at the top of the map reads "There can be no real preparedness for War, for Defense, or for Peace without National Highways and Good Roads Everywhere."

This map from 1915 strongly advocates for a 100,000 mile national highway network. Published by the National Highways Association, this map emphasizes the usefulness of a nation highway system during times of need, particularly during war efforts.

Highways have fundamentally altered the landscape of the United States 🚗

In this session, we’ll explore the reasons behind these transformations and share approachable ways to weave this history into your teaching about Boston and its neighborhoods.

Register now: buff.ly/8CUc7cU

A plan of Boston, and its environs - American Revolutionary Geographies Online American Revolutionary Geographies Online is a portal containing thousands of maps from dozens of institutions that bring to life the history and geography of the American Revolutionary War era.

Maps: Richard Williams, "A plan of Boston, and its environs" (1776): buff.ly/XCJDDjc,
Thomas Hyde Page, "A Plan of the Town of Boston : with the Intrenchments &c. of His Majestys Forces in 1775" (1777): buff.ly/1gLWSa0
Images: Library of Congress, New York Public Library Digital Collections

This area became an important stop on the Underground Railroad and was home to many abolitionist hotspots like the African Meeting House.

Eventually the land was purchased by the Mount Vernon Proprietors, a real estate syndicate that planned elite housing developments. While the south slope of renamed Mount Vernon was predominantly white and upper class, the north slope became one of Boston’s first African-American neighborhoods.

This label became so prevalent that it was mentioned several times in letters between George Washington and the Continental Congress. In fact, one of Washington’s letters mentioning the area has the word "Whoredom" crossed out and replaced with the deliberate mishearing "Horam."

Whoredom Hill provided a drastic contrast with the rest of Puritan Boston, where strict legislation banned ball sports for fear of gambling. British officers saw this juxtaposition and gave it the name "Whoredom Hill" as a tongue-in-cheek reference to an area of London which had similar reputation.

Indeed, centuries before the infamous "Combat Zone" of the 1960s and 70s, the city’s first red-light district was situated right next to Beacon Hill. This area was well known for activities of ill repute such as boozing, prostitution, and perhaps worst of all: bowling!

Visitors to our current exhibition may have noticed a strange label on one of the maps ...🔍

This 1776 visualization of British military positions around Boston prominently labels the scandalously-named named "Mount Whoredom" right next to the Common!

Map: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Economic Relations, "Rural cultural regions in the United States" (1940): buff.ly/qCUJTz5

What do you think about your region? Does it match what you think about rural cultural patterns in the US today? Let us know in the comments!

Are you a New Englander ... or more of an "Eastern Metropolitan?" 🤔

This 1940 map examines the "rural cultural regions in the United States." It breaks down the continental US into 32 different regions, each with a named and define rural cultural pattern.

The Leventhal Center and all BPL locations will be closed on Sunday, January 25 and Monday, January 26 for a snow emergency.

For more information, see the City of Boston press release: www.boston.gov/news/mayor-w...

Small Grants for Early Career Digital Publications - Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library Application Information for the LMEC Small Grants for Early Career Digital Publications Program

This article was supported by LMEC's Small Grants program. Learn how to apply at our website: buff.ly/lBcRmAM

What's beer got to do with urban development?

In this new article from Joshua Merced, you'll learn how Boston's brewing landscapes connect past to present, urban to rural, and people to place. Read the full article: buff.ly/xVJ4hVq

#bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory

❗Join us January 26 at 2 pm ET for "Beyond the Headlines: AI and Historical Newspapers."❗

This event, co-hosted by @bpl.boston.gov Digital Services and the Leventhal Map & Education Center.

Register for event reminders using the link in our bio.

Banner reading "Scheduled downtime" with background image of Rip Van Winkle on a map

Some of our digital tools may be unavailable or limited on Monday, January 19 due to scheduled maintenance. We expect normal functioning to resume on Tuesday, January 20.

Calling all cartography lovers!

This free showing will take place Friday, January 23 in the Learning Center with a staff member from the Leventhal Center available to answer questions.

Drop in any time between 2:00–4:00 pm. No reservation is required.

Plotted — Boston Public Library Plotted — DeGraff, Andrew, — "This incredibly wide-ranging collection of maps -- all inspired by literary classics -- offers readers a new way of looking at their favorite fictional worlds. Andrew…

Books: Andre DeGraff, "Plotted: A Literary Atlas" (2015): buff.ly/Bb1SiPj , John F. Rooney, "Atlas of American Sport" (1992): buff.ly/uY5irg9 , Dorling Kindersley Limited, "DK World History Atlas" (2005): buff.ly/drxcu2Y