Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlas Collection

  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of Burbak, California
  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of Los  Angeles, California
  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of Los Angeles, California
  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of Sacramento, California
  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of San Diego, California
  • Sanborn Map showing a segment of San Francisco, California

Resources & External Links

Resources

LOC: Introduction to the Sanborn Collection

Some background and introduction to the Sanborn Map Collection at the Library of Congress.

LOC: About the Sanborn Collection

Guidelines for accessing and using the Sanborn Map Collection at the Library of Congress. Includes detailed guidelines on interpreting keys, legends, colors, symbology and indexes.

Guide to Abbreviations (PDF)

A glossary of abbreviations and obscure terminology found within Sanborn map sheets.

Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps

Hosted by the UC Berkeley Earth Sciences & Map Library and compiled by Philip Hoehn, this comprehensive list catalogs coverage areas, dates and owning institutions for Sanborn maps housed throughout North America. Also check out their History of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.

How to Interpret Sanborn Maps

Hosted by Historical Information Gatherers, this site offers “educational and support materials for use and understanding of Sanborn Maps”.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases at LAPL

Background and instructions for using online Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases at the Central Library.

Los Angeles County Sanborn Maps at CSUN

An online finding aid for locating CSUN Sanborn volumes within Los Angeles County.

Articles and Other Links

Historical Atlases Rescued from the Trash

From Greg Miller at All Over the Map, some backstory on how CSUN came to acquire its collection of Sanborn atlases.

How America USED to Look

From Ann Schmidt at The Daily Mail, some additional backstory on how the CSUN Sanborn Collection came about.