Old maps of Detroit

**O3H** · November-24-17, 06:59 PM

Where do you go for old maps - Library of Congress ?

1915 Detroit Wayne County

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4113w.la002115/

1894 Wayne County parts of Oakland/Macomb

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4113w.la000365/

**Steve** · November-25-17, 10:58 AM

Thanks. These are really good.

**MikeM** · November-25-17, 02:50 PM

Online archives and websites
eBay
Antique stores
Used book stores
Estate sales

**O3H** · November-25-17, 05:28 PM

Quality, authenticity, legibility, and ability to zoom in are vital to maps

U.S.G.S. - united states geological survey

https://imgur.com/NckRSOn

**Crystal** · November-25-17, 07:24 PM

Sanborn Maps

https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanb...ion%3Amichigan

**Király** · November-26-17, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by Crystal

Sanborn Maps

https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanb...ion%3Amichigan

Yes. To see how amazingly detailed they are, check out this Sanborn map of the Packard plant:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4114dm...5194907/?sp=44

**Crystal** · November-26-17, 07:40 PM

Kiraly, thank you so much for the wonderful map of Packard. I'm not the best at locating specific structures, and to see the plant in such detail is great fun.

In another Sanborn project I found myself [[at long last) locating the massive J & L Steel plants in Pittsburgh and Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Wow, one could pore over those detailed drawings for hours.

**Hornwrecker** · November-26-17, 09:40 PM

Here's a link to a high res scan that I did of a mid 1930s map of Detroit:

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...iKx3AtpF7Gm3AL

Use the scroll wheel or CTRL+ to enlarge if viewing online.

**dtowncitylover** · November-27-17, 10:16 AM

Those maps really conjured up my historical "what ifs". Had we not given birth to the auto industry would our city limits be different? Detroit's boundaries remind me of Old Toronto. I assume we expanded because we wanted to capture the tax base of growing population and commercial centers but if auto plants didn't exist that wouldn't have happened so fast.

Perhaps the city limits in the OP's post would be much more urban. Traffic relief would've come in the form of real mass transit. The true inner suburbs would've started around Six or Seven Mile. Suburbs like Woodward Heights, Gratiot Heights, or Connor Creek never to be...