Date
|
Link
and Name of Map
|
Description
or
Notes if Any
|
Undated
|
Street
Name
Changes in Buffalo |
There
were a lot of street name changes around the turn of the 20th
century. This list was compiled by the Buffalo & Erie County
Public Library.
|
Various
|
Historical
Nautical Map & Chart Project |
Search
on Buffalo
at the screen provided here by the National
Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration to get about 70
outdated
nautical charts for the Buffalo waterfront. These charts are NOT to be
used for navigation! |
1802
|
Original
Land
Subdivisions in
Buffalo |
A black and white map showing
the names and outlines of large tracts of land in early
Buffalo |
1802
|
Original
Land
Subdivisions
in Buffalo |
This
map, produced in 1901, takes the tract boundaries shown in the map
above and
superimposes modern-day city streets over them. See, for
example, the
original boundaries of Black Rock. |
1804
|
Village
of New Amsterdam |
As
designed by Joseph Ellicott, before the name Buffalo stuck |
| 1804 |
Village
of New Amsterdam |
Another
scan of the same map |
ca.
1805
|
Village
of
Buffalo |
The
inner lots, essentially the Niagara Square/Main Street portion of
downtown
Buffalo |
ca.
1805
|
Village
of Buffalo |
Another
map showing the inner lots |
ca.
1805
|
Village
of Buffalo |
Another
map showing the outer lots |
ca.
1810
|
Village
of Black Rock
Prior to
War of 1812 |
Shows
the location of the actual black rock |
| ca.
1810 |
Buffalo
Creek |
Shows
lots on the shore of what is now the Buffalo River |
| 1810 |
Buffalo
Creek & Lake Erie |
Shows
lots between
the creek and lake |
1813
|
Village
of Black Rock
|
Hand-drawn
map showing location of major buildings
|
| 1813 |
Buffalo
Village |
Shows
buildings and some land owners |
1813
|
Map
of Burned
Buffalo |
A
diagram of the tiny village of Buffalo that was burned during the War
of 1812 |
1825
|
Village
of
Buffalo |
Shows
the inner (downtown) lots |
1829
|
Black
Rock
|
Part
of the Niagara River
and Plan of the proposed Harbour at Black Rock, a printed map |
| 1829 |
Niagara
River |
Shows
Squaw Island and harbor at Black Rock |
| 1834 |
Erie
Canal Surveys |
12
maps of the Erie Canal in Buffalo and Black Rock, brought to you by the
New York State Archives |
| 1836 |
Buffalo |
By
W.B. Gilbert.
Shows ward boundaries for the 1840 and 1850 censuses. |
1836
|
Proposed
Harbor Improvements |
Self-explanatory
|
1838
|
Buffalo |
An
interesting negative (white on black background) map of the downtown
area |
| ca.
1840? |
Niagara
River |
Shows
proposed bridge crossings and ship canal at Buffalo |
1847
|
Map of Buffalo |
From
Smith's History of the City of
Buffalo and Erie County |
1849
|
Buffalo |
Includes ward
boundaries used for the 1840 and
the 1850 censuses.
Look for numbers
1-5 and subtle dotted lines |
1850,
1900,
1901
|
Buffalo
Historical GIS |
A
work in progress. The final product will be interactive and will
include more text
and more categories, such as schools, hospitals, grocery stores,
taverns, theaters,
boarding houses, benevolent organizations, etc. Other icons will
display demographic data
such as population density, ethnicity, household income, property
values, etc. and
governmental information. Be sure to see the Buffalo ward maps! |
1853
|
Buffalo
Harbor |
A
bird's eye view of the foot of Main Street
|
1854
|
Buffalo
Harbor
|
Shows
the breakwater and water depths
|
| 1854 |
Buffalo
Harbor |
Another
version,
with zoom and pan options |
1855
|
Buffalo |
Oddly
printed with the Niagara River flowing east-west, but shows ward
boundaries |
1855-1890
|
Ward
Map of
Buffalo for Census Years 1855-1890 |
Title is self-explanatory
|
1863
|
Bird's
Eye View of
the City of Buffalo |
Photographs
of a map on exhibit at the Buffalo & Erie County
Historical Society.
Shows individual buildings. |
1866
|
Buffalo
|
Reproduced
from the Stone & Stewart Atlas
of Erie County. Shows
some buildings as tiny, indistinct black
squares or undifferentiated blocks. |
1866
|
Buffalo |
Same
as above,
only this version is available commercially as a reprint |
1866
|
Buffalo,
Part One
Buffalo,
Part Two
|
Reproductions
from the Stone & Stewart Atlas
of Erie County. This
site sells reproductions
of the plates. |
| 1866 |
Buffalo
River |
Shows
Buffalo River with an overlay of a modern aerial photograph |
ca.
1870
|
Niagara
River |
Shows
proposed bridge
crossings at Buffalo, ship canal, Black Rock channel, Squaw Island |
| 1872 |
Cornelius
Creek |
The
now-vanished stream is shown with an overlay of a modern
aerial photograph |
1872
|
Hopkins
Atlas of Buffalo
|
This
is one of the first atlases in Buffalo to show individual
buildings and names of property owners. Digitized by the New
York
Public Library.
|
1872
|
Hopkins
Atlas of Buffalo
|
This
site sells reproductions of the plates.
|
1880
|
Buffalo
Ward Map
|
Shows
names of large land owners. Reproduced
from the Beers Atlas of Erie County.
Brought
to you by the NY Public Library.
|
| 1880 |
Buffalo
Ward Map |
Shows
names of large land owners. Reproduced
from the Beers Atlas of Erie County.
Brought
to you by the New York
State Archives. You may need to disable your pop-up blocker. |
1880
|
Buffalo
Parks |
A
schematic map showing the street grid but not street names, with the
Olmsted park system picked out in black |
1880
|
Bird's
Eye View of Buffalo
|
An
artist's conception showing downtown in the foreground
|
1884
|
Buffalo,
Erie Co., NY Street Directory |
This list of streets was
scanned
from microfilm prints of the Buffalo City Directory. Buffalo city
streets were renumbered in 1868 as
described on the first page of the directory. No personal names here,
just street
names. |
1884
|
Western
Terminus of the Erie Canal
|
An
1884 map of the Canal district in Buffalo, with a modern aerial
photograph superimposed on it
|
1888
|
All
Roads Will Lead to Buffalo in September |
An
artist's conception of Buffalo as seen from the air |
| 1891 |
City of Buffalo |
From
Atlas
of the World |
| 1893 |
Niagara
Falls, North Tonawanda, and Buffalo atlas |
The
entire G.M.
Hopkins Niagara
Falls,
North Tonawanda, and Buffalo
atlas. Images
are zoomable and can be purchased as reproductions.
Shows individual buildings. |
| 1893 |
City
of Buffalo |
One
plate from
the G.M. Hopkins Niagara Falls,
North Tonawanda, and Buffalo
atlas. Shows
ward boundaries. Image is zoomable and can be purchased as a
reproduction. |
1894
|
City
of
Buffalo Atlas |
All
three volumes are online, brought to you by the County of Erie. Each
volume
has a clickable map to bring up the appropriate page in the atlas.
Shows individual buildings. |
| 1894 |
City of Buffalo |
Shows
ward
boundaries |
1895
|
Buffalo
Ward Map
|
Full
color sheet map published by Joseph Rudolph Bien. Brought to
you
by David Rumsey.
|
| 1895 |
Buffalo
Ward Map |
Same
as above, brought to you by Historic Maps Restored. available
commercially as a reprint |
| 1895 |
Buffalo |
By
Rand McNally
& Company |
1896
|
Buffalo |
A full color sheet map
|
| 1896 |
Buffalo |
From
Cram's Universal
Atlas Geographical, Astronomical and Historical |
1897
|
Buffalo
|
From
a
Rand McNally's Atlas of the World
|
1897
|
Chart
of Buffalo Harbor |
From
the Blue
Book of American Shipping,
Cleveland, OH: Marine
Review, 1897 |
| 1898 |
Buffalo |
From
Cram's
Universal Atlas, Geographical, Astronomical and Historical |
| 1898 |
Chart
of Buffalo Harbor |
Depicts the Erie Basin, Buffalo Creek,
the City Ship Canal & the Lehigh Valley Docks,
by the Army Corps of Engineers |
| 1900 |
City
of Buffalo |
From Universal
Atlas of the World |
| 1900 |
City of Buffalo |
Another copy from Universal Atlas of the World |
| 1901 |
Buffalo |
From
Rand McNally's Enlarged Business
Atlas
and Shippers Guide |
| 1901 |
Buffalo |
Another map from
Rand McNally, fully zoomable |
1901
|
Topographic
Map of Buffalo |
One of the first
topographic maps of
Buffalo
|
1901,
1948
|
Topographic
Maps of Buffalo |
These
maps are divided in four sections which can be enlarged |
1901
|
Map of
the City of Buffalo
|
By
George Cram. Shows
the Pan American Exposition grounds in relation to the rest of the city
|
1901
|
Pan-American
Exposition
Grounds |
A low-resolution
black and white illustration |
1901
|
Pan-American
Exposition Grounds
|
A
large-scale (2MB), detailed black & while map
|
1901
|
Pan-American
Exposition Grounds
|
A
rendering in black, white, and red
|
1901
|
Pan-American
Exposition Grounds
|
Another
color rendering
|
1901
|
Pan-American
Exposition Grounds
|
A
bird's eye view in full color
|
1901
& later
|
Pan-American
Exposition Grounds and Neighborhood Overlay
|
Shows
the Pan Am grounds with an overlay of the streets that were built there
after the Exposition
|
1901
& 1926
|
|
A
cool
animattion that shows a small section of the Exposition morphing into
an aerial photograph from 1926
|
| 1901
& 2007 |
Pan-American
Exposition |
A
map of the grounds superimposed on a modern aerial photograph |
1902
|
Bird's
Eye View of Buffalo |
This one is impressive--you
can zoom in
and see your own
neighborhood with individual
buildings!
Obviously, whoever
drew this had to use artistic shortcuts--he couldn't go out and sketch
every single
factory, house, and shed. But it's still a must-see. |
1902
|
Bird's
Eye View of Buffalo
|
The
same map as above only with less ability to zoom in
|
1906
|
Buffalo
Harbor |
From History
of the Canal System of
the State of New York by
Nobel E.
Whitford |
| 1906 |
Geological
Map of
Buffalo |
"Typical
geologic
map with fine detail including details of Buffalo city
proper and cross section printed perpendicular to map along edge."
|
| 1907 |
Buffalo |
From
Cram's
Standard American Atlas |
1909
|
Buffalo
|
From
Baedeker's
Guide
|
| 1909 |
Buffalo |
Another
version from Baedeker's Guide |
| 1909 |
Buffalo |
From
P.F. Collier
and Son's The
New Encyclopedic Atlas
and Gazetteer of the World |
| 1909 |
Buffalo
Ward Map
|
From
the Century
Atlas of Erie County
|
| 1911 |
Buffalo |
From
Rand
McNally's Indexed Atlas |
1914
|
Olmsted
Parks
and Parkways in Buffalo |
Brought
to you by the University at Buffalo |
1914
|
Buffalo
River Area |
Shows
the downtown and South Buffalo area from roughly Tupper Street to
the Buffalo
River |
1915
|
Buffalo
New Century Atlas, vol. 1
|
Covers
Buffalo downtown and north of downtown, shows individual buildings
& names of some land owners
|
1915
|
Buffalo
New Century Atlas, vol. 2
|
Covers
Buffalo south of downtown, shows individual buildings &
names of some land owners |
1915
|
Ward
Map
of Buffalo's East Side |
This
is a modern map of the east side of the city of Buffalo, with the
ward boundaries for the 1915 New York State census added. In other
words, be
forewarned that the map might show things that
didn't exist in 1915. |
1915,
1920,
1925 |
Buffalo
Wards by Street |
This
is not a map
but an A-Z list of streets in the City of Buffalo and what wards they
were in for the purpose of the 1915, 1920, and 1925 federal
and state censuses. Brought to you by the Buffalo & Erie
County Public Library. |
| 1917 |
Buffalo |
A
street
map produced for the 1917 Buffalo city directory.
Brought to you by the New York State Archives. You
may need
to disable your pop-up blocker. |
ca.
1920
|
Railroad
Map of
Buffalo |
Shows
"pre-merger" railroad lines along the Niagara River and in Buffalo |
1920
|
Extension
of City
Limits |
Shows
how the city expanded over time |
1920
|
The
Future Electric City |
Imagines
Buffalo with 360 square miles, encompassing Niagara Falls, and
a population of
2,000,000 |
1921
|
Buffalo |
By Rand McNally |
| 1922 |
Plan
of Buffalo |
Very
few street names are shown, but parks and major traffic routes are
color-coded.
Brought to you by the New York State Archives. You
may need
to disable your pop-up blocker. |
1920s-1950s
|
Buffalo
Movie Theaters |
Hand
drawn by Carl Zoschke |
| 1930
to present |
Buffalo
Ward Map |
Shows
ward boundaries, 1930 to the present. Large, slow-loading PDF
will open in new window. |
1931
|
Grain
Elevators |
A
detailed map of the Buffalo harbor by the Army Corps of Engineers,
showing locations of
grain elevators, mills, railroads, and slips |
1938
|
Buffalo
Police
Precincts |
|
1940
|
Buffalo |
Scanned
in four sections |
1950
|
Downtown Buffalo
|
Shows
the property owners in downtown Buffalo just before the advent of Urban
Removal and surface parking blight
|
1950
|
Historic
USGS Maps |
Focuses
on railroads in Buffalo |
1950s
|
New
York Central
Railroad, Buffalo |
Includes
the New York Central Terminal |
1960s
|
Topographic Map of North
Buffalo |
In black and white
|
1960s
|
Topographic Map of South
Buffalo |
In black and white
|
| 1965 |
Topographical
Maps of Buffalo |
At Archive.org |
1970
|
Buffalo |
Scale
1:500,000 |
1984
|
Buffalo
Central Terminal |
Sanborn
maps of the entire complex |
1987
|
City
of Buffalo Zoning Map |
Brought
to you by the University at Buffalo |
2000
|
Average
Housing
Age Distribution |
Shows
age of Buffalo houses based on census figures but does not make a
distinction among
houses older than 50 years, which is most of the city
|
2002
|
Buffalo
Neighborhoods |
Shows
commonly used neighborhood names and areas
|
2003
|
Downtown
Buffalo Parking Lots and Ramps |
Contrary
to the popular imagination, there is so much parking downtown
that there is little to do BUT park. Scroll down for map. |
2003
|
Buffalo
Common Council Districts |
|
2004
|
Broadway-Fillmore
Neighborhood
|
Shows
house lots but not buildings. In PDF.
|
2004
|
Triangle
Neighborhood
|
South
Park-Abbott Rd area in South Buffalo. Shows house lots but
not
buildings. In PDF.
|
2006
|
Hydrographic
Surveys |
Charts
of Buffalo waterways brought to you by the Army Corps of
Engineers |