Indianapolis Sanborn Map and Baist Atlas Collection

This collection consists of large-scale color maps depicting the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of Indianapolis, Indiana. The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps include the years 1887, 1898 (updated to 1915), and 1915 (updated to 1940s), while the Baist Real Estate Atlases include the years 1916, 1927, and 1941. The maps show individual building "footprints", complete with construction details, such as building material (brick, adobe, frame, etc.), height (of larger buildings), number of stories, location of doors, windows, chimneys and elevators, use of structure (dwelling, hotel, church, etc.), street address, and occasionally the ethnicity of the occupants.

Both the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and Baist Real Estate Atlases were originally produced for insurance underwriters, who used them to determine risks and establish premiums. Today these maps are used by scholars and researchers in such fields as history, urban geography, architectural history and preservation, ethnic studies, and urban archaeology.

In addition to keyword searching, extensive metadata enables you to search by landmark type, such as churches, or by specific landmark name, like Indianapolis Water Company. To do this click on "Advanced Search" and select the only the box for Indianapolis Sanborn Map and Baist Atlas Collection. At the top of the page, click on "Selected fields" and pick a field to search using the drop-down menu. Clicking on "show terms" will display a box with a list of terms to choose from. For more help with browsing or searching, click here .

For black and white version of additional years of the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps please visit the ProQuest database