PlaceLayers › Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland: what has been surveyed and when
Baltimore is the first city in PlaceLayers because the record is unusually deep: the Library of Congress lists 62 Sanborn items for the city, 22 of them published between 1880 and 1930 and therefore free of copyright restrictions, and 46 historical USGS quadrangles intersect the central city.
Browse the Sanborn sheets
Pick an edition, open its index sheet to find the number covering your block, then step through to that sheet. Images are served by the Library of Congress image service; every sheet links to the official viewer.
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Sanborn editions in this release
| Year | Volume | Sheets | Library of Congress note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Vol. 1 | 86 | Water supply map. Double-paged plates numbered 1-40. Bound. | Catalogue · Viewer |
| 1890 | Vol. 2 | 90 | Water supply map. 6 skeleton maps. Double-paged plates numbered 41-80. Bound. | Catalogue · Viewer |
| 1901 | Vol. 1 | 109 | Water supply map. Key map to edition. 10 skeleton maps. Bound. | Catalogue · Viewer |
The Library of Congress states that Sanborn maps published before 1931 are in the public domain and may be downloaded without permission. Later editions remain under restriction and are not reproduced here. LoC copyright guidance. Full result set: LoC API query.
Historical USGS quadrangles
| Published | Quadrangle | Scale | Extent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894 | Baltimore, MD | 1:62,500 | quadrangle | Record |
| 1908 | Patapsco, MD | 1:125,000 | quadrangle | Record · GeoPDF |
| 1953 | Baltimore East, MD | 1:24,000 | quadrangle | Record |
| 1984 | Baltimore, MD | 1:100,000 | quadrangle | Record · GeoPDF |
46 quadrangles intersect the central-city bounding box. The full list comes from the TNM Access API for the source records.
Streets indexed in this release
- S BroadwayFells Point
- Thames StreetFells Point
- Aliceanna StreetFells Point
- Fleet StreetFells Point
- Boston StreetCanton
- O'Donnell StreetCanton
- Light StreetFederal Hill
- E Fort AvenueFederal Hill
- N Charles StreetMount Vernon
- W Pratt StreetDowntown
- Eastern AvenueHighlandtown
- Greenmount AvenueWaverly
- W 36th StreetHampden
- Falls RoadHampden
- Gay StreetOld Town
- Wolfe StreetButchers Hill
- Frederick AvenueSouthwest Baltimore
- Washington BoulevardPigtown
Talking to an environmental professional
If the historical record shows a use you want explained, the next step is a conversation with an environmental consultant licensed in your state. A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is the standard product; typical quotes fall between $2,200 and $4,000.
Start your own Baltimore house-history search
A free step-by-step route through maps and public research sources, with examples from Fells Point.