Historic maps give a glimpse of the old Bay Area

A Currier & Ives lithograph of San Francisco from 1878, drawn by C.R. Parsons. Before the Gold Rush, San Francisco only had 5,000 residents. By the 1880s, well over 200,000 people lived in the city. A Currier & Ives lithograph of San Francisco from 1878, drawn by C.R. Parsons. Before the Gold Rush, San Francisco only had 5,000 residents. By the 1880s, well over 200,000 people lived in the city. Photo: Library Of Congress Photo: Library Of Congress Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Historic maps give a glimpse of the old Bay Area 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Old photographs, of course, give us a sense of what our past looked like. But maps can also tell a fascinating tale.

A look through the Library of Congress archives will give you a glimpse of California's evolving landscape throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many of the maps in their collection are military surveys, done either before or during construction of Northern California's many military installations.

Included in the above photo set are plans for the 1932 construction of Hamilton Army Airfield and a survey of Bonita Point that was done right before World War II. Several pre-war surveys show the extent to which Northern California was armed along the coastline in the event of an enemy attack.

For a bigger view of the maps, click on the expander icon on the right side below the photo.