Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Historical St. Louis in 110 Drawings


In the 1870's a printer named Richard J. Compton employed an artist called Camille N. Dry to draw a birds's eye view map of St.Louis. Dry's map had to include every building, street and landmark in the city. The result was the magnificent 'Pictorial St. Louis', a huge oblique map consisting of 110 individual drawings or plates.

You can examine Compton and Dry's Pictorial St. Louis with this new story map. The map uses Leaflet.js to provide a fully interactive version of this bird's eye view of St. Louis.  The interactive version of the map allows you to zoom in on the amazing details and pan around this large portrait of the city.

If you scroll down on the page you can also learn about some of these details. The sidebar provides information about some of St. Louis' landmarks in the Nineteenth Century, such as the world's longest arch bridge, the Social Evil Hospital and the world's tallest free-standing Corinthian column.

I you want to learn more about how Pictorial St. Louis was turned into an interactive map you should read How to Make an Interactive Story Map Using Leaflet and Non-Geographical Images.

BTW - if you are a fan of "well-crafted pictorial maps, detailed panoramic cityscapes, broad aerial vistas (and) intricate bird's-eye views then you will enjoy the Paper Towns subreddit.

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