Researching an old building can be both a rewarding and challenging activity, and a variety of free resources are now available for you to use in any such project. Hardlines Design Company is developing a series of free guides explaining how to use some of these resources to help you document the history of a building. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps are one popular source that is commonly used in researching old buildings, and this offer is a short introductory guide on how to use the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) to find archival Sanborn maps for a given property. The tasks covered include:
- Using the Sanborn index to find your property
- Scrolling through the map entries to find maps of your property from different time periods
- Interpreting the shading and symbols on the maps
- Printing and saving map sheets
To download this free document, just complete the form at right--you'll receive an email from us with a link to download the guide. Watch for future entries in this series!
In case you're not familiar with Sanborn maps, here's a sample map from 1887 showing the Ohio Statehouse on Broad Street at that time.
