Processing Place is Open

Today, the maps that show up most often in our everyday lives—from walking directions on your phone to hourly weather maps—are made by computers. Even the simplest of these rely on vast databases of geographic information and complex systems of analysis and visualization. In our newest exhibition, Processing Place: How Computers and Cartographers Redrew our World, we look at how computers and cartography have fused together over the past century—and how they redrew our world in the process.

From September 13, 2024 through March 2025, we invite you visit our gallery to learn how the computer became a cartographer. Processing Place is curated by Leventhal Center staff members Ian Spangler, Assistant Curator of Digital & Participatory Geography, and Emily Bowe, Assistant Director. Admission is free.

Visit the gallery → 

In Person: A History of Boston · Wednesday, September 25 6 pm ET

Join author Daniel Dain and photographer Peter Vanderwarker as they talk about their new book, A History of Boston. Dain and Vanderwarker will act as your tour guide through the history of the city and discuss what lessons can be learned for the challenges of a modern urban area today. This event is hosted by the Boston Public Library Adult Programs and co-sponsored by the Leventhal Center.

Register for the event → 

Application Deadline Approaching: Administrative Assistant

Our team is looking to fill a new fully-remote, part-time role of Administrative Assistant. The position will report to the President & Head Curator and will assist with matters related to the Center’s board management and governance. If you or someone you know might be a fit for this role, please consider applying or sharing the posting. Apply by September 19 to be considered for the role.

Apply online by Sep 19 → 

If You Missed It: Recent Guest Talks by Tristan Brown and Julia Lewandoski

Over the past two weeks, we were fortunate enough to have Tristan Brown and Julia Lewandoski join the LMEC community for virtual talks. As the last event for Heaven & Earth, Brown spoke on the historic use of fengshui in Chinese politics and culture. You can view his talk here.

Lewandoski explored how cartographers struggled to express and accommodate distinctive French and Indigenous forms of landholding on maps meant to assert British dominance over eighteenth-century Canada. The full talk is available to watch on our website.

View Lewandoski's full talk → 

Exploring Waltham’s History Through Urban Atlases

Supported by the Leventhal Center’s Allmaps Research Fellowships, students at Brandeis University authored five short essays that explored what historic Sanborn fire insurance atlases can tell us about a the history of Waltham.

With the help of Ian Spangler, LMEC Assistant Curator of Digital & Participatory Geography, students learned how to georeference a Sanborn map using Allmaps. Read through the articles to see examples of the ways these students used Sanborn maps, digital tools, and careful in-person observation to document transformations in Waltham’s urban geography.

Read the article → 

Newsletter Trivia: Libraries!

It’s time to test your map and history knowledge to win a chance of receiving three free months in our Map Of The Month Club. In order to enter, make sure you follow us on Instagram or Facebook and direct message us the answer to the following question. We’ll accept answers until September 23 at 9 am ET. Correct answers will be included in a random draw—the winner will receive the next three Map of the Month club postcards for free. Congratulations to our last winner, Anya!

The oldest, continuously operating public library in the US is in Massachusetts and featured on this 1902 map! This library belongs to which Massachusetts town?

• Franklin, MA
• Cambridge, MA
• Harvard, MA
• Salem, MA

The answer to the last Newsletter Trivia question about first city to to ensure all residents have a park within a 10-minute walk of home is San Francisco.

Message us on Instagram → 

Free Shipping on a Map Reproduction

For the rest of this month, use the code URBANWILDS for free shipping on anything in our online gift shop. All of our reproductions are printed in-house on HP Super Heavyweight Plus Matte paper and HP ink. All images are printed on paper with a 2-inch blank margin on all sides—perfect for framing or hanging.

Visit the shop →