Viewing NYC Articles Categorized Under Vintage Maps

Vintage Maps From 1894 Show Manhattan Densely Populated With Immigrants

2025-11-21T09:00:00-05:00

New York City is a city rich with immigrant population, and it has been this way for a very long time. In these vintage maps from 1894 recently relocated by Slate , you can see just how dense the immigrant population was in New York City, showing the distribution of the principal nationalities by sanitary districts.

These two maps don’t represent the total diversity in any given sanitation district. They only show the largest two or three groups that made up two-thirds of each district’s population. The decision ultimately dramatized the strong presence of foreign-born citizens from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Russia throughout Manhattan. Pierce told Harpers’ Weekly at the time that Scotch, English, Welsh, Scandinavian, and Canadian New Yorkers were not recorded due to “being in small numbers and perhaps less foreign than the others.”

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[MAPS] Check Out This British Map of NYC and Surrounding Area from 1781

2025-04-19T12:00:00-04:00

Chart and Plan of the Harbour of New York & the Country Adjacent, from Sandy Hook to Kingsbridge, Comprehending the Whole of New York and Staten Islands, and Part of Long Island Sound & the Jersey Shore: And Shewing the Defence of New York Both by Land and Sea

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Check Out This Incredible Map of New Amsterdam From 1664

2023-09-24T12:00:00-04:00

This is one of the oldest maps of what is now known as New York City. The town of Mannados, aka New Amsterdam, was a tiny community on the southern tip of Manhattan island in 1664, and this map reflects that. The streets and buildings aren't listed in much detail, but there are some interesting bits on the map, such as "Hudson's River" and "Longe Isle Land".

The map is now in the possession of the British Library as part of the King's Topographical Collection, where it has the following description:

This anonymous plan is . . . likely . . . an English copy of a map made for the Dutch authorities in 1661 by Jacques Cortelyou which may have been handed over to the English by the last Dutch governor, Pieter Stuyvesant following his surrender of the town in September 1664.

This map of New York may well have been created from the original Dutch map by one of several draughtsmen living in alleys in the docklands east of the Tower of London who specialised in decorative chart-making. English ships can be clearly seen in the harbour emphasisng their victory over the Dutch.

The town wall, that was to give its name to Wall Street and the Battery (or fortification), the site of which is now covered by Battery Park, can also be identified. The map's name recalls its presentation to the Duke of York, the future James II, at the time when he was being asked for permission for the town to be renamed after him. The map formed part of the royal map collection from then on, eventually being incorporated into the geographical collections assembled by George III. These were presented to the British Museum, with George III's library, in the course of the 1820s.

The Boston Public Library has an extremely high resolution digital scan you can download for free.

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This Vintage Illustrated Map Shows Birds-Eye View of Manhattan From Hoboken in 1876

2023-09-01T12:00:00-04:00

Created by T. Sulman and Robert Loudan in 1876, this vintage illustrated map shows a birds-eye view of Lower Manhattan as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey. Zooming in to the full version, you can see many pieces of the City that are still here today such as Trinity Church, Bellevue Hospital, and Union, Madison and Tomkins Square Parks.

New York : From Bergen Hill, Hoboken. Extra supplement to the Ilustrated London News, August 18, 1876. Bird's-eye view of New York, New York, showing Battery Park on the right and Central Park on the left; also visible are the foundations for the Brooklyn Bridge.

Check out the specimen page on Digital Commonwealth for more info on the map.

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[WATCH] Vintage Photographs, Drawings, and Maps of the Flatiron District and Flatiron Building

2022-10-29T12:00:00-04:00

The Flatiron Building opened in 1902 and is one of the most significant architectural wonders in New York City. In this great slideshow compilation video from Vimeo uploader Lyndon Lorenz, see shots of the Flatiron Building and surrounding Flatiron District over the past century.

New York’s Flatiron Building (originally named the Fuller Building) has been considered an iconic landmark since its completion in 1902. Serving as anchor to what is now called “the Flatiron District”, this triangular 22-story steel-framed tower has attracted countless tourists and filmmakers as well as encourage business and leisure at its site on the intersections of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street.

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[MAPS] Check Out This 1781 British Map of NYC and Surrounding Area

2022-03-03T12:00:00-05:00

Chart and Plan of the Harbour of New York & the Country Adjacent, from Sandy Hook to Kingsbridge, Comprehending the Whole of New York and Staten Islands, and Part of Long Island Sound & the Jersey Shore: And Shewing the Defence of New York Both by Land and Sea

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1930 Architectural Concept of Manhattan From Renzo Picasso

2021-12-28T16:00:00-05:00

Renzo Picasso was an Italian architect, engineer, and urban planner of the 20th century. In this blueprint from 1929, titled American Multiple Highway, Picasso proposes a stacked roadway system running along the length of Manhattan.

It was intended to have seven levels: six for automobiles and pedestrians, and one underground for the subway. As can be seen in the image, the criss-cross pattern is the intersection of the "Super Streets," three of which go from North to South and the other three from East to West. All the levels would have connected between them and with the ground by means of ramps, and to the corresponding buildings via catwalks.

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[WATCH] Slideshow Shows Vintage Photographs, Drawings, and Maps of the Flatiron District and Flatiron Building

2021-09-08T16:00:00-04:00

New York’s Flatiron Building (originally named the Fuller Building) has been considered an iconic landmark since its completion in 1902. Serving as anchor to what is now called “the Flatiron District”, this triangular 22-story steel-framed tower has attracted countless tourists and filmmakers as well as encourage business and leisure at its site on the intersections of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street.

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This Funny 1936 Map Shows "A New Yorker's Idea of the United States of America"

2021-06-22T16:00:00-04:00

Redditor NiceBoysenberry recently cleaned up this funny old map from 1936 showing "A New Yorker's Idea of the United States of America"

I've been cleaning up old yellow maps as a hobby and thought that you're sub would get a kick out of this one from 1936.

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Check Out This Incredible Map of New Amsterdam From 1664

2021-05-07T16:00:00-04:00

The map is now in the possession of the British Library as part of the King's Topographical Collection, where it has the following description:

This anonymous plan is . . . likely . . . an English copy of a map made for the Dutch authorities in 1661 by Jacques Cortelyou which may have been handed over to the English by the last Dutch governor, Pieter Stuyvesant following his surrender of the town in September 1664.

This map of New York may well have been created from the original Dutch map by one of several draughtsmen living in alleys in the docklands east of the Tower of London who specialised in decorative chart-making. English ships can be clearly seen in the harbour emphasisng their victory over the Dutch.

The town wall, that was to give its name to Wall Street and the Battery (or fortification), the site of which is now covered by Battery Park, can also be identified. The map's name recalls its presentation to the Duke of York, the future James II, at the time when he was being asked for permission for the town to be renamed after him. The map formed part of the royal map collection from then on, eventually being incorporated into the geographical collections assembled by George III. These were presented to the British Museum, with George III's library, in the course of the 1820s.

The Boston Public Library has an extremely high resolution digital scan you can download for free.

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