Tagged maps
Mapping Imagination: The Art of World-Building
Whether real or imaginary, maps guide travelers, define characteristics of a region, and illustrate values and perspectives. How did the location of Marvel’s Wakanda come to fruition? What’s the fastest way to get…
Start Summer of Wonder with a Treasure Hunt
There’s treasure in your neighborhood if you know where to look! Southwest Philadelphia families are invited to hunt down treasure troves of books to kick-off Summer of Wonder in June. Saturday, June 4th, starting at 10am until…
Bicycling Resources for National Bike Month
Happy National Bike Month ! Founded in 1956 by the League of American Bicyclists, National Bicycle Month is full of activities and initiatives to inspire people to take to the road on bikes rather than cars. If you’re heading back…
Explore the New Deal’s Legacy Across Philadelphia
The New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s political experiment to pull the United States out of the Great Depression, created programs for relief for the unemployed and economic recovery and reform. Evidence of some of these…
New Release of the ProQuest Sanborn Maps Database
Sanborn fire insurance maps are available once again through ProQuest’s updated and newly-released database, Sanborn Maps 1867-1970 (formerly known as Sanborn Maps Geo Edition 1867-1970). This database gives you access to…
Using the City's Online Maps to Find Free Food Distribution and COVID-19 Testing Sites
As COVID-19 cases surge in our city, Philadelphia health officials have announced a new Safer at Home plan, which aims to limit the spread of this virus through this difficult period. Vaccines for COVID-19 are currently under…
Explore Your Neighborhood Virtually with Digital Collections
With current stay-at-home orders and social distancing precautions in place, I find myself more eager to spend time outside and walk (or jog if I’m feeling really motivated) around the neighborhood. This has sparked a growing…
#SpecialCollectionsAtHome
The Free Library of Philadelphia is home to a myriad of Special Collections . Since mid-March, we have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that those of us who work with the Special Collections, are unable to work…
Free Library Tour Guides Use Map Collection to Celebrate This Year's Volunteer Appreciation Day!
At 54 neighborhood libraries and the Rosenbach , Free Library volunteers embody the institution's vision of "an enlightened community devoted to lifelong learning" every day. While the library is now a more virtual…
#ColorOurCollections: Creating Art with the Free Library's Digital Archive
Do you remember that scene at the beginning of Tangled where Rapunzel completes a day's worth of tasks before breakfast? Yeah, that's a lot less funny now. But if the school assignments are done and your Netflix…
Learning Through Touch: Connecting with Objects in Our Special Collections
In a recent CNN article titled, "Why touching art is so tempting — and exciting," Fiona Candlin, a professor of museology at Birkbeck College in London and author of Art, Museums, and Touch , argues that…
A History Minute | 14 Surprising Facts about the Port of Philadelphia
Philadelphia has been a major center of international commerce for over 300 years. Even today, with major port complexes serving major metropolitan centers throughout the country, Philadelphia and its international seaport maintains a…
#5WomenArtists from Our Special Collections
Can you name five women artists off the top of your head? (Not counting Frida Kahlo or Georgia O’Keeffe.) Try. Surprised if you can’t? Don’t be. It happens. But let us help you achieve this goal... In March of…
An Island Retreat Off the Shores of Philadelphia
Long ago, Philadelphians had the opportunity to escape the congestion of the city by ferrying to two islands in the middle of the Delaware River, across from what is now Penn’s Landing. These islands were known as Smith’s…
Philadelphia - The Cycling City | Part 1: Paving the Way
The current exhibition in the Rare Book Department ’s Dietrich Gallery, entitled Philadelphia - The Changing City , offers a look at centuries’ worth of local transformations illustrated with materials mostly sourced from…
Celebrate Take a Hike Day with the Free Library!
Maybe when they say November 17 is Take a Hike Day , they mean you’re supposed to tell someone on your nerves to go take a hike?! Hmmm. *shrug emoji* In any case, we figured it was a good time to remind you that the Free Library…
Free Tours of Philadelphia: The Changing City Exhibition
Come and learn about Philadelphia's exciting, dynamic, and often forgotten history with a free guided tour of the Philadelphia: The Changing City exhibition. The tour will be led by an exhibition curator in the Dietrich…
Philadelphia: The Changing City - An Exhibition from Special Collections
October 10 marks the opening of an exhibition that analyzes Philadelphia's growth across more than three centuries, presenting more than 80 rare and revelatory prints, photographs, documents, and maps from the Free…
Navigate Your Research with Resources from the Map Collection
The Map Collection , a Special Collection at the Parkway Central Library , houses numerous resources for all types of research. The Map Collection has pictorial maps to inspire artists and art lovers, topographic and…
A Rare Glimpse of Philadelphia in the Early 1800s
The Free Library’s map collection comprises thousands of maps focused on the development and history of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. One particular map, the Plan of the City of Philadelphia and Environs, 1809, surveyed by John…
Let’s Explore Space
Children are invited to join the Geography Lady and learn all about space through pictures, maps, stories, games, movement, crafts, and more!
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This program is for adults and seniors.
Mapping Afrofuturism: Samuel R. Delany in conversation with Science Fiction Scholar Alex Wermer-Colan
The writer Samuel R. Delany, in conversation with literary scholar Alex Wermer-Colan, reflects on a life of imaginative mapping, talking about his experiences growing up reading and writing science fiction, building and mapping…
Summer Reading Kickoff: Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This program is for adults and seniors.
Beauty on the Horizon: The Art of Landscapes
Landscapes are more than pictures—they are representations of the world around us, an artist’s interpretation of time and place. These interpretations evoke mood through medium, style, and design. Natural features like…
Beauty on the Horizon: The Art of Landscapes
Landscapes are more than pictures—they are representations of the world around us, an artist’s interpretation of time and place. These interpretations evoke mood through medium, style, and design. Natural features like…
Beauty on the Horizon: The Art of Landscapes
Landscapes are more than pictures—they are representations of the world around us, an artist’s interpretation of time and place. These interpretations evoke mood through medium, style, and design. Natural features like…
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Around the World in 30 Days!
Pick up your passport at the library and join the Geography Lady as we travel to and explore a different country each week across four continents. Vote for which country you would like to travel to at the library before April 28th. For…
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This program is for adults and seniors.
Around the World in 30 Days!
Pick up your passport at the library and join the Geography Lady as we travel to and explore a different country each week across four continents. Vote for which country you would like to travel to at the library before April 28th. For…
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Around the World in 30 Days!
Pick up your passport at the library and join the Geography Lady as we travel to and explore a different country each week across four continents. Vote for which country you would like to travel to at the library before April 28th. For…
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This program is for adults and seniors.
Around the World in 30 Days!
Pick up your passport at the library and join the Geography Lady as we travel to and explore a different country each week across four continents. Vote for which country you would like to travel to at the library before April 28th. For…
Around the World with The Geography Lady!
Take a trip around the world from the comfort of the Library with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
Let's Go To Turkey with The Geography Lady!
Learn all about Turkey with The Geography Lady! This is an all ages family program.
SimplyAnalytics
A mapping and data visualization application that makes it easy to create interactive maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing data.
Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970 (Formerly Sanborn Maps Geo Edition)
Explore America’s building history through over 660,000 black-and-white, large-scale maps, which chart the growth of more than 12,000 towns and cities. Read this blog post to learn more.