Forward, Into The Past
Lafayette Square’s ‘Sherwood Forest’, inaccessible for years and enclosed by chain link fence topped with barbed wire, never looked particularly friendly. In fact, there was a slow evolution going on in there, that played out over the years.
Continue reading “2021: Sherwood Forest”Sanborn Maps have been created for around 12,000 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico. They were designed so that insurance companies could gauge their risks, and therefore their liabilities from fire. These maps have been published since 1867. The largest collection is online at the US Library of Congress. A more local assortment from the early 1900’s is also available on the Missouri Digital Heritage site, referenced below.
They’re intriguing to explore for the snapshot they provide of our neighborhood during a particular year. Here are a couple of extracted examples, from the 1903 and 1908 Sanborn Maps.
Continue reading “1903: A Lafayette Square Sanborn Map”