University Library

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are detailed maps showing building footprints, construction materials, width of streets, house addresses, and the use of the building. The Map Room has Sanborn maps for cities in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties from various years.

We're Digitizing our Sanborn slides!

Our digital map collection includes over 300 (and counting!) digitized Sanborn slides of Santa Cruz county. To limit your results to Sanborn maps, search on a street name or feature and append "and Sanborn". For example, search on "Branciforte and Sanborn", or "jail and Sanborn".

Zoom in using the plus button or the slider bar at the top; drag the pink box on the tiny map at the upper left to re-position within the map.

Only slides dated prior to 1923 may be digitized due to copyright restrictions.

Sanborns on Colored Slides

The bulk of the Map Room's Sanborn collection is 2" x 2" color slides. The slides can be copied in black and white. The hardbound editions may not be copied.

Select a county below to view coverage by city and year.

Books in Our Collection About Sanborn Maps

Fire insurance maps : their history and applications
Diane L. Oswald
HG9771 .O85 1997
Union list of Sanborn fire insurance maps held by institutions in the United States and Canada
R. Philip Hoehn ; foreword by Walter W. Ristow
Z6026.I7H63
Fire insurance maps in the Library of Congress : plans of North American cities and towns produced by the Sanborn Map Company : a checklist
compiled by the Reference and Bibliography Section, Geography and Map Division ; introd. by Walter W. Ristow.
Z6026.I7U54 1981M

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