Mapping Americana

What can 20th-century pictorial maps tell us about American identity? With the summer coming to a close, rising Boston Latin senior Kyler Hoogendoorn-Ecker wrote about his explorations through pictorial maps in the collections that display visual representations of American folklore and cultural diversity.

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A dream map for your commute blues

Need something to take your mind off the Orange Line closure? We were reminded of this 2019 article from Boston Globe reporter Emily Sweeney, who annotated a 1947 map that showed then-proposed suburban extensions to the rapid transit system. We’re also quite taken with this 1945 version of the map, which has tiny station illustrations and a funky aerial perspective.

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Virtual Event: Mapping the Mystic River · Aug 18, 4pm ET

Join us with the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) for a conversation on the historic Mystic River and MyRWA’s past and present efforts to protect it. This talk will map development along the Mystic River, touching on the need for public access and climate resilience planning. This talk is part of our Continued Conversations series in conjunction with our current environmental justice exhibition, More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape.

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Can you guess the most famous person from your hometown?

We’ve enjoyed seeing this map of “notable people” make its way around Twitter the last few weeks. Made by Mapbox engineer Topi Tjukanov, the map displays data from Wikipedia for the birthplaces of famous people around the world. Explore the dataset yourself or read what Tjukanov had to say about his map going viral.

See the map → 

Walls looking a little bare?

College students, don’t let your dorm look this sad. Make our maps part of your back-to-school decor! If you place your order for in-gallery pickup, use the code DORM-DECOR for 50% off all reproductions in our store, now through September 9.

And teachers, we didn’t forget about you! We’re taking requests for low-cost and free reproductions of digitized maps in our collection for organizations that plan to display the reproductions in a public or classroom setting.

See reproductions for sale →