Back in Time

Drag the handle to compare today's streets with the Sanborn fire insurance maps.

Legend

From the key on the 1929 volume's index sheet.

Building colours (what they're built of)

  • Yellow: frame (wood)
  • Red (pink on these sheets): brick
  • Blue: stone
  • Gray: iron
  • Brown: fireproof

Marks on a building

  • Number (2, 3 …): stories
  • × shingle roof · ● composition roof · ○ slate or tin roof
  • (C.B.): concrete block
  • Box with an X: stable
  • Dashed line inside: frame partition

Walls, cornices and openings

  • Fire wall above the roof: 1, 2 or 3 ticks = 6, 12 or 18 in.
  • Metal or wood cornice: a mark on the wall line
  • Arcs in walls: openings with iron doors, "standard" iron doors, or windows with iron shutters
  • Dots and ticks: windows by story (1st; 1st & 3rd; 2nd & 4th), counted left to right facing the building
  • Steam boiler: a filled bar

Other symbols

  • Numbers in circles (⑤ ㉗): relative heights
  • AS in a circle: automatic sprinklers
  • Heavy cross (+): fire station
  • Alternating street numbers are actual; consecutive ones are arbitrary

Also on the sheets (usual Sanborn marks, not in this key)

  • D dwelling · A auto garage · S store
  • F.A. fire alarm box · D.H. / T.H. double / triple hydrant
  • Lines along streets: water mains and their size (e.g. 6″ W. Pipe)
About these maps

Old maps: Princeton University Library, Sanborn Map Company (No Known Copyright; non-commercial use). Today: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Each sheet was fitted to today's map at street corners. "Sheet borders" outlines each sheet and shows its number; "Superimposed streets" shows today's streets faintly under the old map.