1. NYPLMaps shares a few details about one of the oldest streets in New York City, Maiden Lane, which was also known as T’Maagde Paatje.

    nyplmaps:

    Appleton’s Dictionary of Greater New York And Its Neighborhood (1905):

    Maiden Lane

    A Street running from Broadway between John and Liberty Sts., east to the East River, is one of the most ancient in New York. It was established as a road in the earliest times of the Dutch, its course through a valley being the easiest route of passage from the two great highways along the North [ Hudson ]and East River sides and was from the first used as such. It was then known as “T’Maagde Paatje,” or the Maidens Path. It was laid out as a street about 1693, during the governorship of Colonel Fletcher, when it received its present name. At present it is lined with substantial stores and is the center of the wholesale jewelry trade.     

    Plan of the city of New York in North America (1776)

    Maiden Lane, New York. Jewelry centre of the world (ca. 1885)

  2. Jewish Geography in America: Who Went Where When and Why | The New York Public Library →

    We’ve had some experience with Jewish Geography here at the Library’s Tumblr HQ… and therefore strongly urge all those who have experienced similar moments of coincidence to attend Friday’s program. 

  3. The Woolworth Building: The Cathedral of Commerce →

    Want to learn more about the iconic Woolworth Building on its 100th birthday? Visit this blog post from one of our librarians at NYPL’s Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy - it contains all the details you never knew! (Well, maybe you knew, but it is chock full of information that you should read it no matter what you knew.)

    April 24th sees the one hundredth anniversary of the opening of the Woolworth Building, at 233 Broadway. In 1913 the Woolworth Building was the tallest inhabited building in the world, and would remain so until the opening of the Chrysler Building, in 1929. 

  4. In honor of Earth Day, here’s the Earth … as depicted on our Hunt-Lenox Globe, one of the Library’s greatest treasures. Located in our Maps Division, the globe was prepared around 1510, and is the earliest surviving engraved copper sphere from the period immediately following the discovery of the New World, meaning it was one of the first cartographic representations of the Americas known to geographers. Of the two continents in the Western hemisphere, only South America is represented, appearing as a large island with the regional names “Mundus Novus” (the New World), “Terra Sanctae Crucis” (the Land of the Holy Cross), and “Terra de Brazil” (the Land of Brazil). 

    In honor of Earth Day, here’s the Earth … as depicted on our Hunt-Lenox Globe, one of the Library’s greatest treasures. Located in our Maps Division, the globe was prepared around 1510, and is the earliest surviving engraved copper sphere from the period immediately following the discovery of the New World, meaning it was one of the first cartographic representations of the Americas known to geographers. Of the two continents in the Western hemisphere, only South America is represented, appearing as a large island with the regional names “Mundus Novus” (the New World), “Terra Sanctae Crucis” (the Land of the Holy Cross), and “Terra de Brazil” (the Land of Brazil). 

  5. We were visiting the Maps Division today and spied a book from the fantastically-named Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, published around 1837. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (also known as SDUK) published several interesting books for the diffusion of knowledge, including one about “Vegetable Substances,” many of which you can find at the Library.

    We were visiting the Maps Division today and spied a book from the fantastically-named Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, published around 1837. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (also known as SDUK) published several interesting books for the diffusion of knowledge, including one about “Vegetable Substances,” many of which you can find at the Library.

  6. Elephant-Shaped Buildings and Other Curiosities: NYPL's Map Librarian Talks About Making Historical Geography a Part of the Internet →

  7. The Master Plan of Manhattan

    Ever wondered about the layout and formation of NYC’s streets and avenues? Well, wonder no more! NYPL is currently co-sponsoring The Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition The Greatest Grid, the Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-2011 and tomorrow afternoon we’re happy to bring you The Greatest Grid: Curator’s Talk, which will examine 300 years of street planning in the Big Apple. Now, you know we like to share with NYPL Tumblr’ers, so with the code “NYPL210” NYPL members can receive discounted tickets! Reservations are required, so be sure to get your tickets today!

    Take a walk along Fifth Avenue to MCNY tomorrow and experience the magic of the grid yourself! 

  8. Pop Quiz, Hot Shot

    What state was admitted into the United States on this day in 1845? You can call, chat, email or text our 24-7 reference service Ask NYPL to find out (yep, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a reference librarian is available to answer any question you can dish out - the NY Post did a great story about it last year). In the meantime, here’s a map of the United States from 1795 from our incredible Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division to get you thinking.

  9. Become a citizen cartographer! Last week, the New York Public Library was part of Social Media Week in New York City, and we took the opportunity to show off our brilliant staffers in social media and our wonderful work in the world of maps. The photo above shows NYPL Geospatial Librarian Matt Knutzen working with attendees during our Citizen Cartography @ NYPL Workshop: Tracing 19th Century Manhattan workshop.

    Participants learned how to trace information from maps and combine it with additional information to make a new and improved map with lots of info. We zoomed in on 19th century maps all the way down to building level and added spatial data to those buildings so that the map could be searched using this new, added info. We worked on a map of NYC from 1857. 

    This is all part of the NYPL Map Rectifier, which is now in beta mode and can be used/experimented with/learned at home!  So, yes, you can became a Citizen Cartographer, too!  Visit maps.nypl.org for more info, including a great video with Matt Knutzen explaining this much better than we can. Follow The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division on Twitter @NYPLMaps.

  10. Even if we can’t change the past, we have the beginnings of digital time travel.

    —  said by Jack Eichenbaum, Queens Borough Historian and moderator of Social Media Week’s panel Future Library: Socializing History with Maps, which took place today at the New York Public Library. He was talking about maps from the past, maps from the future, and how we can overlay maps.