1939 Geographia Map of the Bronx and Manhattan, New York City

A rare, large-format two-sheet 1939 folding map of Manhattan and the southern Bronx issued by the Geographia Map Company. Although falling squarely within the 'age of anxiety' defined by the Great Depression and geopolitical tensions, the map also highlights the great advances made in the city's urban planning and transportation infrastructure in the preceding years. It also coincides with the 1939 - 1940 New York World's Fair, an expensive and well-promoted event that was meant to lift spirits and the economy.

A Closer Look

The lower sheet displays Manhattan up to 104th Street, with portions of New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens, and small nearby islands, while the upper sheet depicts Manhattan above 104th Street and the southern half of the Bronx. Details include roads, bridges, tunnels, piers, railways, subway and elevated lines, parks, public institutions, subway and railroad stations, and 'house numbers,' indicating addresses by city block. An alphanumeric grid in the border corresponds to a street index at bottom on the lower sheet and at top on the upper sheet.

Modernizing New York's Infrastructure

Although ferries and steamship lines are meticulously noted, the city was shifting decidedly towards underground subways and automobiles as the primary means of transportation, including interborough and interstate travel. The city's subways and elevated trains were themselves transforming rapidly, as subway lines moved towards consolidation, a process completed with the creation of the New York City Transit Authority in 1953. The Second, Third, and Columbus Avenue Elevated Lines appear here, but were phased out in the following years in favor of quieter and cleaner subway lines. Meanwhile, the Lincoln, Holland, and Queens Midtown Tunnels, along with the George Washington and Triborough Bridges, had all opened in the preceding years, joining earlier bridges in connecting the city's boroughs and the city with New Jersey.

The 1939 - 1940 New York World's Fair

Queens is not included on this map, but Geographia nevertheless likely intended the map to be used by visitors to New York for the 1939 World's Fair, taking place in a cleared ash dump that was transformed into exhibition grounds (today's Flushing Meadows-Corona Park). Despite the glum of the Great Depression and the Second World War, which began in Europe while the fair was in progress, the fair's emphasis on progress, science, and new technologies (including television) left a deep impression. The city itself reflected these virtues, as efficiency and progress were the orders of the day.

Publication History and Census

This map was produced and published by the Geographia Map Company in 1939. Geographia published a variety of maps of New York City and its boroughs in multiple editions in the 1930s - 1950s, including the lower sheet by itself, which Geographicus has previously offered. However, this map seems to have not survived well and was only issued once. We see only one institutional holding, at the New York Public Library.