Sanborn Map Company, "Central business district, Providence, Rhode Island" (1904). Sanborn Maps for the State of Rhode Island. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:212271/
Sanborn Maps
Sanborn Maps are fire insurance maps originally produced by the Sanborn Map Company in the 19th and 20th centuries.
From the Library of Congress' Introduction to the Sanborn Map Collection:
The maps were designed to assist fire insurance agents in determining the degree of hazard associated with a particular property and therefore show the size, shape, and construction of dwellings, commercial buildings, and factories as well as fire walls, locations of windows and doors, sprinkler systems, and types of roofs. The maps also indicate widths and names of streets, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.
Sanborn Uses
- Verify and assign addresses
- Evaluate building permit applications
- Review preliminary site plans
- Identify areas for revitalization and redevelopment
- Enforce zoning regulations
- Prepare for emergencies
Map Features - typical Sanborn maps include the following information:
- Building addresses
- Building height
- Building footprints
- Street names
- Number of stories per building
- Building construction materials
- Building use
- Right of way
- Brown Digital Repository - Sanborn MapsCollection of Sanborn Maps of Rhode Island.
- John Hay Library, Brown University - Sanborn MapsPhysical copies of Brown's Sanborn Maps are available for viewing by appointment at the John Hay Library.
- Library of Congress - Sanborn MapsThe Sanborn collection includes some fifty thousand editions of fire insurance maps comprising an estimated seven hundred thousand individual sheets. The Library of Congress holdings represent the largest extant collection of maps produced by the Sanborn Map Company.
- City of Providence ArchivesThe City of Providence Archives has physical copies of Sanborn Maps for Rhode Island dating back to 1927. They also have Plat maps, street layouts, blueprints, and other resources on urban development in Providence. You need to make a research appointment to view these resources.
Providence RI Flood Insurance Maps
- Flood insurance rate map : city of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence CountyCall Number: Ref GB1399.4.R4 P7 1986