Map stories

Can a map tell a story? Well that’s what I asked myself on my fourth visit to the BHS. Here I had the opportunity to see maps that are over 100 years old. The maps are kept in excellent condition considering their age with a laminated plastic cover, protecting it from the air.Though these maps, ranging from 1740’s to a modern-day MTA Subway map, were amazing to see, they weren’t the focus of that visit. The late 1800’s Auction lot sale map my group was looking at was an interesting piece. In it, the cartographer Samuel H.M. Elroy drew up block in a small part of what is today Crown Heights (then part of the town of Flatbush) and further divided the area into lots that would then be sold. The creators of this map brought attention by promoting the area’s historic value, and it’s potential as an ideal place to live in. It was great to see these maps, since it shows the kind of people that these new homes were geared towards, and how the area was portrayed then, considering that today Flatbush isn’t considered such a great neighborhood. The stories these maps hold are amazing.