Remote access to this resource requires a UBITName and password.

Digital Sanborn Maps (1867-1970) provides electronic access to more than 660,000 Sanborn fire insurance maps of more than 12,000 American towns and cities. The maps are valuable tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, and environmentalists.

NOTE: UB subscription limited to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for New York State.

Searching Tips A key sheet provides a birds-eye view of the city. You will be able to see sheet numbers (or volume numbers) over different areas of the town. You can then browse the sheet thumbnails to pull up the sheet that you want. 

Getting Started

• Click on the "Browse Maps'" button to access the first step of your map location.
• Select New York State from the drop-down menu (this will be your only option).
• You will automatically be taken to a screen where you can select a city.
• Once you have selected a city, you will be taken to a page displaying available map dates for that city.
• From here, you can select your desired map date using the drop-down menu.

1867-1970

Digital Sanborn Maps was created from ProQuest Information and Learning's microfilm collection of 660,000 Sanborn Maps, which were filmed from the Library of Congress' collection.

The University at Buffalo Map Collection also has the 1991 edition of the city of Buffalo on microfilm. See the Sanborn Maps page for details.

Note on the collection: The Digital version of this collection is black-and-white line art. The original maps were printed in color. If you require the color originals, see the Sanborn Maps page for links to collections of these.