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Maps | GIS | Aerial photographs | Statistics | Images | Planning Documents | City Resources Home

Digital Maps and Images

Digital Sanborn Maps of Washington, DC

• The Scholars' Lab provides access to Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for Washington, provided through Proquest/UMI. These black and white maps are digitized versions of a microfilm collection of Sanborn maps collected at the Library of Congress. The Proquest/UMI collection is restricted to UVa faculty, staff and students.

Other Maps and Charts

• Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys: Instructions on how to use this set of large-scale survey maps (available on microform).
• Maps from the District of Columbia's Office of Planning (most in PDF format).
• Subway and bus maps from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
• More map sources can be found on the national-level resources page.

GIS Data

Virginia Gazetteer

• If you are looking for GIS data for the areas in northern Virginia around the District of Columbia, we recommend starting with the Scholars' Lab's Virginia Gazetteer. This is a searchable database that will allow access to several of our most commonly used GIS data sets including Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), Digital Topographic Maps (DRGs), Land Cover Data (NLCD), Aerial Photos (DOQQs) and Satellite Imagery.

Other Sources of GIS Data

• More GIS sources can be found on the national-level resources page.

Scanned Aerial Photos

• More aerial photography sources can be found on the national-level resources page.

Statistical Data

• Census factsheets from American Factfinder:
  • Quick census facts for the District of Columbia (2000 and 2004)
  • More Washington, DC data sets from the Census Bureau
• More statistical sources can be found on the national-level resources page.

Photographs and Views of the City

• Washington as it Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959, part of the Library of Congress's American Memory collection, documents the architecture and social life of the Washington metropolitan area in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
• More photograph sources can be found on the national-level resources page.

Planning and Architectural Documents

• The District of Columbia Office of Planning provides neighborhood plans, development review case reports, historic preservation information, and documents related to the District's Comprehensive Plan.
• Exploredc, a gateway to America's Capital from parks to people, gives a comprehensive introduction of Washington DC, including its original plan--the L'Enfant Plan.
• The National Capital Planning Commission provides overall planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the National Capital Region.