City of Lancaster Pennsylvania

Simple overview of the city of Lancaster, PA from the late 1930’s.

The base map on display here was first published locally by the firm of L.B. Herr & Son in 1927, and shows revisions dated to 1939. A simple key outlines the straightforward methods used for identifying streets (including those used by bus and street car lines), rivers, buildings, railroads, and the city limits.

The outlines of the important buildings are individually numbered and an accompanying index lists the 48 separate locations. An inset map in the lower right shows the various wards and precincts within the city.

This particular example was customized for use in the Central Engineering Department of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It has been dissected and mounted to linen for preservation and storage convenience purposes. Manuscript updates added vivid color highlighting track ownership by the two primary operators in the city, which are then identified by a custom legend added to the lower left (Pennsylvania Railroad in red and Reading Railroad in green).

Additional annotations in black ink identify additional locations of relevance, such as the freight yards, passenger stations, and freight stations.