Whipple Maps of St. Louis
Washington University Libraries and the Missouri History Museum hold approximately 3,300 fire insurance maps produced in St. Louis by Alphonso Whipple between 1870 and 1898. Currently, use of these paper maps is restricted by their brittle condition, but through this joint digital project, they are now being made available to the public.
Visit the Unreal City to view these historic maps of St. Louis.
What are Sanborn Maps?
Sanborn maps date back to the 1860s and were created as a detailed building record by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. They are large scale (50 feet to the inch) and highly detail and include such information as building location, construction materials, and building height.
Sanborn Maps in Print
The latest print edition of Sanborn maps for St. Louis can be viewed in the Art and Architecture Library Reference Section. Use the available street index to locate the volume and page for your area of interest.
Older paper editions of the Sanborn Maps are held in the West Campus Library.
Digital Sanborn Maps: Missouri, Louisiana, and Illinois
- Digital Sanborn MapsAn online resource consisting of scanned black and white images of Sanborn maps for Missouri and Louisiana. The maps were produced between 1876 and 1970, and can be searched by city and date.
- Sanborn Maps Geo EditionIllinois town and city fire insurance maps searchable by address and GPS coordinates, and tools to layer maps to see changes over time. Maps were produced between 1867 and 1970.