Explore: Maps

Tagged Maps

Mapping Imagination: The Art of World-Building

Mapping Imagination: The Art of World-Building opens Monday, March 6 on the Third Floor of Parkway Central Library and has been extended to run through August 31, 2023. Whether real or imaginary, maps guide travelers, define…

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…

Art Book Club: February

We call it a "club" but this recurring event is simply an opportunity for anyone to stop by and page through rare and special items from the Art Department's vault, archival collections, closed…

Special Collections Showcase: Map Collection

Explore and learn about objects from the Map Collection in a curated talk offerered by Special Collections staff. This drop in event will be held in the Map Collection at the Parkway Central Library from 11:00am to 11:30am. This…

"Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art" Exhibition

Storytelling has shaped cultures and captivated imaginations throughout history. Whether teaching moral lessons or celebrating epic heroes, each tale reflects our values, fears, and dreams. Stories reflect the context—past or…

"Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art" Exhibition

Exhibition Tour: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art

Join us Saturday, January 11 at 11 AM for a tour of the latest exhibition from the Free Library's Special Collections Division: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Ar t . Meet on the Second Floor of Parkway Central…

Exhibition Tour: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art

Art Book Club: January

We call it a "club" but this recurring event is simply an opportunity for anyone to stop by and page through rare and special items from the Art Department's vault, archival collections, closed…

Special Collections Showcase: Map Collection

Exhibition Tour: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art

Join us Saturday, December 21 at 11 AM for a tour of the latest exhibition from the Free Library's Special Collections Division: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Ar t . Meet on the Second Floor of Parkway…

Exhibition Tour: Telling Tales: From Oral Tradition to Art

SimplyAnalytics

A mapping and data visualization application that makes it easy to create interactive maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing data.

Serial Set Maps

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.