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Category: Geography and Map Division

a map of the US in 1880s with shading to show density of certain kinds of manufacturing in each state

Made in America: U.S. Manufacturing in Gilded Age Census Maps

Posted by: Lena Denis

I recently heard a factoid in passing that fascinated me and sparked further investigation: after having been decidedly middle of the pack immediately post-Civil War, the United States’ share of total world manufacturing output became the highest in the world between 1880 and 1900, with a near exponential pace of growth during these decades. Oddly, …

Posted in: 19th century cartography, American History, Big Data and Visualization, Geography and Map Division

a map produced by the USGS of the original plan of Washington, D.C. made by Pierre L'Enfant

Urban Planning Legends: City Design Makeovers before the Olympics

Posted by: Lena Denis

Excitement about the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is sweeping our own nation’s capital, as it is in so many places around the world. Here at the Library of Congress, we’re certainly marking the occasion. The Informal Learning Office (ILO) recently hosted an Olympics-themed Family Day, and afterward they published a blog post about it where …

Posted in: 19th century cartography, 20th century cartography, American History, City Histories, European History, Geography and Map Division