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Leventhal Map & Education Center

@bplmaps.bsky.social
937 followers 189 following 868 posts

We use maps, geography, and history to understand the connection between people and places in Boston, New England, and beyond. linktr.ee/bplmaps

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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Near the yards indicated by yellow and orange at the very center of the map lay neighborhoods like the South Cove and the lower South End, both of which were densely crowded with substandard housing for the working-class families whose labor was indispensable to the industrial system.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
On the peripheries of South Boston and East Boston, proposals are shown for port facilities stretching out into the tidelands. The South Boston flats would eventually become today’s Seaport district, while the East Boston flats would become Logan Airport.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The blue and yellow area between Cambridge, Somerville, and Charlestown shows the massive rail yards that occupied the filled land formerly at the mouth of the Miller’s River.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A growing economy demanded space for facilities like rail yards and port facilities, as shown here on this map from a government report on how to manage the city’s industrial geography.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We sent our head curator, Garrett Dash Nelson, on a world tour (via Photoshop) to read this Boston-printed broadside of the Declaration in some of the locations you suggested.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
During our recent exhibition "Declarations: Printing a New Nation" we asked patrons where in Boston they would read the Declaration of Independence if it came out today.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Our walls are filling up! We’ve heard about family legacies, first homes, and favorite local attractions—and we want to hear from you too. Share Your Where today! Go to atlascope.org to capture your favorite historic view. Then, donate to our programs and we’ll display your view and caption.
Printed images of Atlascope pinned to a corkboard
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Kircher also placed a large ball of fire in the center of the earth, suggesting that this inferno causes lava and water to rise from Earth’s interior.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This map depicts all bodies of water on Earth connected by a system of underground waterways. Oceanic whirlpools feed these channels, while mountain springs derive water from these resources, creating a cycle of water above and below ground.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Created by Jesuit priest and scholar Athanasius Kircher, this intriguing map of the earth was included in his 1665 treatise “Mundus Subterraneus.” Kircher’s early theories combined religion and science, and looked to scripture for evidence in Earth’s formation.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🎉 You don’t have to come to Copley to participate in the back-to-school excitement—join the Where Workshop wherever you are, with your very own view on our walls! ➡️ Share Your Where with us today by going to atlascope.org and capturing your favorite historic map view.
atlascope.org
Atlascope Boston
Atlascope Boston is a tool for exploring historic urban atlases in metropolitan Boston and telling stories about how places have changed over time. A project of the Leventhal Map & Education Center…
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🏫 Welcome to back-to-school season! Every day, we see more college students on the Green Line and herds of elementary schoolers at the BPL. Here at the Leventhal Center we’re busy setting up our new Where Workshop, a reimagining of our gallery to activate geographic learning for all visitors.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
While the middle-class reformers had many well-intentioned plans to bring resources to these neighborhoods, their exoticizing treatment of an urban “wilderness” often jostled uncomfortably with the efforts of immigrants and laborers to form their own social movements.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In the map of “predominant race factors,” they observed how different groups clustered together in blocks, while the map of “industrial character” examined the composition of the labor force. Other maps took stock of building types and social institutions.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
These maps of the South End from the 1898 book "The City Wilderness" show the sorts of urban phenomena that interested the reformers.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Settlement workers produced some of the first detailed maps to study socioeconomic and demographic conditions—the most famous of which were the Hull House maps of Chicago. In Boston, the South End House created similar maps documenting multi-ethnic, working-class neighborhoods.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In response to the exploitative living and working conditions facing many immigrants, reformers in the late nineteenth century founded “settlement houses,” volunteer social service agencies with the goal of improving impoverished urban districts.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wouldn’t the even more fundamental grievances of both free and enslaved Black populations in nineteenth-century America therefore warrant the same?
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here, he contrasts the Declaration’s soaring rhetoric of equality with the realities of slavery and racism throughout the United States. Walker’s invocation of the Declaration made a clear point: the grievances of white American colonists under British rule had once justified armed rebellion.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
In particular, Walker urges both free and enslaved Black audiences to rise up and overthrow American slavery—by force, if necessary. Walker ends the Appeal by confronting white readers with the plain text of the Declaration itself.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
His pamphlet, titled "Walker’s Appeal … to the Colored Citizens of the World", was an attack on anti-Black racism and the institution of slavery in the United States. Walker’s text contains radical calls to action that were unprecedented in print when he first published the pamphlet.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
In 1829, decades before the start of the Civil War, David Walker self-published a fiery pamphlet that repurposed the Declaration of Independence for the anti-slavery cause. Walker was a prominent Black Boston merchant, civic leader, and abolitionist.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
While "Declarations: Printing A New Nation" may be closed, the digital exhibition remains on our website! This means you can still access resources like a fully digitized copy of "Walker’s Appeal … to the Colored Citizens of the World" or make a research appointment to view it up close.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This fall, you can share the hidden history of your own neighborhood with our visitors! Go to atlascope.org to capture your favorite historic view. Then, donate to support our programs and we’ll honor your gift by displaying this view and your own caption in our space.
atlascope.org
Atlascope Boston
Atlascope Boston is a tool for exploring historic urban atlases in metropolitan Boston and telling stories about how places have changed over time. A project of the Leventhal Map & Education Center…
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🐄 ➡️ 🐀 Before Allston was “Rat City,” it was cow city, a thriving hub for Boston’s cattle trade! The Brighton Stockyards, seen here in 1882, anchored the Allston-Brighton neighborhood for over a hundred years and helped ferry cattle, swine, and sheep through the state.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Approximately 170 to 175 Native American languages are still spoken in the US today, down from the estimated 300+ languages spoken before European contact. Many of these languages are facing endangerment, with some estimates suggesting that only 20 will remain by 2050 without intervention.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Due to the harmful actions of the American government, like outlawing the use of Native languages and the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and into government-run boarding schools, the number of fluent speakers of indigenous languages had drastically decreased.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
While not fully representative of every language spoken by the indigenous North American people, this breadth of Native language is much more difficult to find in the current day.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Most maps published in the 1890s only depicted Native American reservations, but this map recognized that Native people originally controlled and inhabited all of North America.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Originally displayed at Chicago's 1893 World Fair, this reconstructed map shows the distribution of major Indigenous language families at the time of European contact.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
You may participate individually or as a member of a team. RSVPs not required, but register through the link in our bio to get a calendar invite and reminder emails. This event will be held in person at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Trivia is back! Join us for the Maps on Tap Trivia Night at Aeronaut Brewing on September 28 at 8:00 pm. Come to test your knowledge on the history of Boston’s transportation, rivers, neighborhoods, parks, and more! Aeronaut gift cards and prizes of maps will be awarded to winning teams!
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
➡️ It’s simple: go to atlascope.org to pick a favorite location on one of our urban atlases, then donate to support our programs. We'll honor your support by hanging your chosen view in our gallery classroom, with your very own caption.
atlascope.org
Atlascope Boston
Atlascope Boston is a tool for exploring historic urban atlases in metropolitan Boston and telling stories about how places have changed over time. A project of the Leventhal Map & Education Center…
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
🖼️ What historical place would you like to share? 🔍 This fall, inspire our visitors with historical views of your favorite college campus building, neighborhood "square", or Boston landmark!
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Modern German orthography also makes use of the "eszett" or ẞ character, which evolved from a long s attached to a script z.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A variant of the long s is still used today as the integral symbol ∫ in calculus. Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz based the character on the Latin word summa (sum), which he wrote ſumma.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A 'long s' is a lowercase 's' that looks similar to a lowercase 'f'. Once common, it was gradually phased out of standard typesetting in the nineteenth century. The shape of the letter was derived from the cursive medial s which resembled an elongated checkmark.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
One of the most commonly asked questions in our gallery is, "Why do some of the s's look like f's?" The answer is: because that's a 'long s'!
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This stature, along with its distinct design, has helped cement the Pru as a defining feature of the city’s skyline.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Even parts of Cape Cod are visible, reaching into the Atlantic in the southeast. These far-reaching views of Greater Boston and beyond are possible thanks to the tower’s 749 ft height and 52 floors, the top of which is open now as an observation deck.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Mass Turnpike interchange ramps are also visible to the right, not yet covered by Copley Place. Route 9 extends past Jamaica Pond to the west, and the harbor islands sit to the east. In the north, smoke rises from industrial factories in Cambridge.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This map from 1968 emphasizes the Pru’s notable stature in the city of Boston by situating the view directly over the tower. Its birds-eye perspective depicts surrounding landmarks as well as some urban sights from the past, such as the open plaza at the tower’s base.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Prudential Insurance Company bought the land and developed it into a large, paved plaza with shops surrounding their central skyscraper. In 1993, to make better use of space, they connected the stores and built the indoor shopping center familiar to us today!
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Do you recognize which iconic Boston landmark this view is from? Before construction for the Prudential Tower began in 1960, the 23-acre site in Back Bay was a freight yard for the Boston & Albany Railroad.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
✍️ Visit our Atlascope tool at atlascope.org to pick a favorite location on one of our urban atlases, then donate to support our programs. We'll honor your support by hanging your chosen view in our gallery classroom, with your very own caption. ⏰ Submit yours now!
atlascope.org
Atlascope Boston
Atlascope Boston is a tool for exploring historic urban atlases in metropolitan Boston and telling stories about how places have changed over time. A project of the Leventhal Map & Education Center…
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Share Your Where on atlascope.org! 🏫 This fall, the Leventhal Center will open the Where Workshop, a fresh take on our exhibition space that emphasizes geographic learning for both kids and adults. Ahead of the opening on October 9, this is your opportunity to Share Your Where with the class!
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
By 1928 Venezuela would be the world’s largest oil exporter. The legend shows the international geography of the petroleum economy, with firms and corporations from the United States and Europe dominating the claims.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Though they look beautiful on the map, the colors actually represent a major episode in the emergence of a global petrochemical industry: each shaded tract shows claims made by companies scrambling to acquire the rights to oil-producing areas during a major boom.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This colorful map shows the northernmost part of South America in the early twentieth century.
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Leventhal Map & Education Center @bplmaps.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The Leventhal Center gallery will be closed Monday, September 14 through Thursday, October 8 as we prepare for the opening of our Where Workshop.
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