❗Join us this Friday, October 10, for a Map Collections Showing as we delve into cities, neighborhoods and regions that either had just or were soon to experience a massive disaster❗

Remember that time Boston hosted the world’s largest tech convention? Yeah, we don't either 🥲 Map: New map of Boston giving all points of interest... (1883) Images: Digital Commonwealth, Historic New England, The Huntington #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory

What are the odds the spoon you're using for your matcha will be a historic object one day? Well, it's greater than zero! ☝🏽😌 Objects: Pewter spoon with relief portrait of King George I [early 1700s], Powder horn with map of Boston and Charlestown (1777), Lead Musket Ball (1775)

Atlascope is like onions—it has layers! You get it? We both have layers 🧅 Check out the newest layers on Atlascope with the link in our bio! Map: Atlas of Boston neighborhoods based on the Direct Tax Census of 1798 (1900) Images: Aerial imagery of Massachusetts (1990-1999)

🏔️What do Worcester, Newton, and Somerville have in common with Rome, Italy? (Supposedly?) all of them were founded on seven hills!🏔️ Maps: Pianta di Roma (1835), Map of Somerville, Mass (1852), Plan of Worcester made by H. Stebbins, dated 1831 (1831), Map of the town of Newton, Mass (1831)

🔍Maps can foster curiosity and help young learners make sense of the world around them🔎 In this workshop, we’ll explore how to use both historic maps and mapping activities to build spatial thinking and support cross-curricular learning in elementary classrooms. Register with the link in bio.

You think paper maps are old school? How about maps carved into giant chunks of marble?🤯 Maps: Carta topografica dell'antichità di Roma (1805), Forma Urbis Romae (200 CE) Source: Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project

So… what if we told you the world map you’re used to seeing isn’t actually an "accurate" depiction of the world we inhabit? 🥴 Maps: Mercator map of the world (1931), Peters World map (2006) Source: NPR

❗Join us this Friday, Sep 19, for a Map Collections Showing as we explore different ways to view the world through map projections❗ #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

😌 We’re here to clear up some rumors. We did, in fact, hire two teenagers to help curate our exhibit… and we're proud of it! Check out Vicky and Matthew’s work in Terrains of Independence at the LMEC gallery during our open hours (11-5 on Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat, 1-7 on Wed, 1-5 on Sun).

❗Join us September 16 for a conversation in the Brown Seminar on the Historical Geography of the American Revolutionary Era with historian Molly Nebiolo.❗ Use the link in our bio to register for the event. This program is part of the American Revolutionary Geographies Online (ARGO) project.

☝🏽 Did you know that this summer, Boston celebrated the 50th anniversary of the independence of Cape Verde? Maps: Insulae Capitis Viridis (1601), Isles du Cap-Verd (1787), Grundriss der stadt und der forts von St. Jago od. Jacob (1747), Insulae Promontorii Viridis... [1662–1673] Image: Boston Globe

Hey Students! We’ve got the deets on the best study spot in the city… 🤫📕💻 As the only indoor study space with views of the BPL courtyard, the Leventhal Center is the perfect place to get some work done. Accessible during our open hours, we hope to see you soon!

❗Join us this upcoming Tuesday, Sep 9, for a Atlascope-based program that asks: What did this community look like before and how has it continued to have an impact into the present?❗ For full event details, click the link in our bio.

Everyone loves being close to the water, right? Well, not when it’s inside your living room! Maps: East Boston flood risk (2023), Revere, Sales Creek - flood control study (1976), Sea Change: Boston (2016) Sources: WGBH, Sasaki, Digital Commonwealth

❗Join us this Friday, Sep 5, for a Map Collections Showing as we ask the question: What truly is the best state around?❗ It’s not uncommon to be proud of the place you live… but these maps take it to another level! #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum

✨Calling all cartography enthusiasts: it’s new acquisitions time!✨ Scroll through the following slides to see some of the newest acquisitions to our collection of over 250,000 maps, atlases, globes, and other cartographic objects. #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory

We’re excited to introduce Alex Jones as our new Learning Resource Specialist at the Leventhal Center! Alex joined us this June and has an extensive history in library and museum work. Read his full interview via the link in our bio.

Are you really a Bostonian if you don’t pronounce harbor like “haah-buh”? We just wouldn’t be Boston without our harbor 💕 Map: New chart of Boston Harbor (1860) Images: Digital Commonwealth #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

What’s so important about a name? Just ask this town outside of Boston! Maps: Arlington, Massachusetts: 1884 (1884), Plan of Arlington (West Cambridge) made by John G. Hales, dated August 1830 (1830), The seat of war in New England, by an American volunteer… (1775)

@itspangler.bsky.social gives an overview of the map resources at @bplmaps.bsky.social and tools for turning them into geodata: openstreetmap.us/events/state... #StateOfTheMapUS #SOTMUS

❗Join us this Friday, Aug 22, for a Map Collections Showing as we dive into some of the longest and tallest maps in the Leventhal Center collections❗ This map collections showing will be Aug 22 at 2pm and spotlight plans of global, pre-industrial cities that were founded by non-European cultures.

✍🏽Want to become a map maker in 1895? Great, all you need is skills in cartography, some artistic talent, and… perfect penmanship? #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

🎂🥳Happy 111th birthday to the Panama Canal! Maps: Panama route, map showing location of proposed canal (1901), Aeronautical view of the Panama Canal (1911), Bird's-eye view of the Panama Canal (1912) Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

🍎We don’t want to rush summer but we do love the start of a new school year🍎 Our Education team is pleased to welcome K-12 educators—near and far—to the next year of upcoming teacher workshops. Sign up today via the link in our bio to ensure a space in an upcoming program! #teacherpd #maps #bpl

🚲Though bike lanes can be divisive, the relationship between Boston and biking goes back nearly 150 years! After nearly 150 years of interest that only keeps getting stronger, it’s safe to say biking in Boston is here to stay.

🥲🪢Boston and its ropewalks are a case study in "you don't know what you got til it's gone" Maps: The town of Boston in New England [1723–1733], Flirtation walk schematic planting plan Charlestown Navy Yard (1990) #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #bostontourism

❗Join us this Friday, Aug 8, for a Map Collections Showing as we dive into some of the longest and tallest maps in the Leventhal Center collections❗ This free showing will be Friday, Aug 8 in the Leventhal Map & Education Center with staff members available to answer questions.

👯“A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.” - Isadora James Maps: Map of Japan (1905), Siege of Strasbourg, 1870 (1872), Melbourne (1895), The Cape Verd Islands... (1775) Image: Digital Commonwealth #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory

🦎♎🗺️ What do lizards, libras, and our exhibit on the Revolutionary War have in common? Scales! #AmRev #americanrevoulution #Mass250 #MA250 #revwar #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

You teach about the American Revolution every year—but not every year is the 💥semiquincentennial💥 This virtual program will take place Wednesday, August 13 at 10 AM and you can register via the link in our bio. We hope to see you this summer! #bpl #LMEC #AmRev #MA250 #revwar #teacherpd

Coming from one city with an infamous river to another, Paris, we feel your pain🫂 The River Seine in Paris reopened publicly to swimmers after a century-long ban… and immediately closed the next day. Much like Boston’s Charles River, the Seine had long been used for waste and… refuse (💩) disposal.

❗Join us this Friday, July 25, for a special Map Collections Showing in partnership with @abettercity , @seaporttma , and @lowermystictma❗ This free showing will be Friday, July 25 in the Leventhal Map & Education Center with staff members from all organizations available to answer questions.

🔍Did you know that Fenway Park is technically named after a patch of mucky marshland? Boston sure draws name inspiration from some interesting places🥴 #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism #backbay #fenway #fens

💂🏽⛵🗺️ Colonial-era maps served many purposes beyond indicating boundaries 💂🏽⛵🗺️ Consider how this view influenced the Bostonian (and British) view of the New England colony in our exhibit, Terrains of Independence. Up through March of 2026, the exhibit is open to the public 6 days a week, Tues-Sun.

Let's go in the garden ☺️🌼🌱 Join us July 23 at 6pm in Egleston Square to launch Gardens of Egleston, a creative storytelling and mapping project sponsored by MassHumanities, Friends of the Egleston Square Branch Library, and the Citywide Friends of the Boston Public Library with help from the LMEC.

👀 One of Cambridge’s best parks used to be a clay pit? And a landfill? And an MBTA dumpsite??? Maps: Atlas of the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts (1903), Map of the city of Cambridge (1922) Sources: Boston Globe, City Parks Alliance, Cambridge Historical Commission #bpl #LMEC #maps #cambridgeMA

🧐Did you know you have the chance to see original maps from our collection (without the need to make an appointment) every other week in our gallery? 🧐 Maps: L'Amérique (1735), L'Amerique divisée par grand etats (1762), J. Schedler's relief map of Boston and environs (1874), Fitz globe (1879)

Fire insurance maps to the rescue! Source + Images: marbleheadcurrent.org Maps: Atlas of Marblehead, Massachusetts (1881), Atlas of the city of Salem, Massachusetts: including also the towns of Marblehead, Peabody, and Danvers (1897)

🦅 Happy Independence Day from the Leventhal Map & Education Center! 🦅 Map: Plan of the city of Washington in the territory of Columbia, ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of America… (1792) Painting: Edward Savage, The Washington Family (1789-1796) #maps #MA250

📣Extra, extra! Research guides here! 📣 Did you know the Leventhal Map & Education Center has dedicated research guides to help access information and sources in our collections? #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #boston

An update on the future of the Allmaps project: Sadly, on April 17, 2025, we learned that the federal government terminated many NEH grants, including ours. The notification stated that our grant’s termination was “necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government.”

Join us today for a Map Collections Open House! This free showing will be hosted Friday, June 27 in the Leventhal Map & Education Center and was specially curated by our Visitor Services & Exhibition Assistant, Zaila Alves. Drop in any time between 2:00PM - 4:00PM. No reservation is required.

@itspangler.bsky.social from @bplmaps.bsky.social holding court in the Leventhal Room at the Boston Harbor Hotel for rapt #StateOfTheMapUS attendees. Thank you, Ian & Leventhal! 🙏🏼🗺️⏳ #OSM #OldMaps

They want to turn the old Harvard T tunnel into a music venue!?👩‍🎤🚉 Source: The Boston Globe Map: T system map (1982) #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism #harvardsq #musicvenue #harvard

Students have been using map worksheets for a long time. Just ask David!🧑🏽‍🎓 Map: History 2 (1914) #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism

Media Famous Maps: JAWS 50th anniversary It’s the 50th anniversary of Jaws and we have the people of Martha’s Vineyard to thank! 🏊🏻‍♂️🦈❗ Maps: Edgartown, Duke's County, Martha's Vineyard Id., Mass (1886), Eldridge's map of Martha's Vineyard (1913), Google Maps (2025) Images: Digital Commonwealth

What exactly does a “tourist map” need to do? 🤔 Maps: Seagram's vacation map of the east [1965–1969] , Official tourist map of Imperial County, California [1941?], Acapulco, México (1980), Illustrated historical map of Shanghai (1935), New Haven (1928)

🦅The Eagle represents freedom, vision, leadership… and the geography of the US? 🦅 Map: The eagle map of the United States (1833)

BRB, on our way to Fenway… 🧦❤️ Maps: Atlas of the City of Boston: Roxbury (1906), Atlas of the City of Boston: Boston proper and Back Bay (1938) Images: Digital Commonwealth #bpl #LMEC #maps #bostonmaps #localhistory #bostonhistory #bostonmuseum #thingstodoinboston #bostontourism #fenway #redsox