1945 Thomas Bros. Map of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland

An impressively detailed c. 1945 large-format indexed folding map of San Francisco by Thomas Bros. The verso includes an equally comprehensive map of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, and other East Bay cities. Together, they reflect the development and integration of the Bay Area in the years before, during, and after World War II.

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from Lake Merced in the south to the Golden Gate Bridge in the north and from the Great Highway in the west to Hunters Point in the east. It notes all major streets, piers, parks, cemeteries, reservoirs, streetcar, cable car, and bus lines, along with other features. A street index is included at right, corresponding to a grid surrounding the map, as well as indexes of points of interest in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Civic Center, and beyond. Illustrations appear throughout, depicting buildings, recreational opportunities, and other local characteristics.

The map reflects the state of the city around the end of World War II (1939 - 1945) when it neared a configuration resembling that of today, with the Sunset and southern parts of the city almost fully developed. Ghosted-in streets in the McLaren Park Site shown here were never built, although parts of the originally designated park land were put to other uses over the years. In 1946, the park's current boundaries were fixed, and it was properly developed as a park with playgrounds, walking trails, sports fields, and a golf course.

Verso Map

This map is oriented towards the northeast, depicting the cities of the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), including Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, Piedmont, Albany, Emeryville, and part of El Cerrito. An alphanumeric grid surrounds the map in the border and corresponds to indexes around the map for streets of individual East Bay cities. Roads, rail and streetcar lines, city and county limits, and waterways are clearly denoted. The University of California (Berkeley) is situated towards the top left. The presence of U.S. military facilities, marked with American flags, is exceptionally prominent, including the Alameda Naval Air Station and the Oakland Army Base.

Publication History and Census

This map was published by Thomas Brothers around 1945. It is noted among the holdings of the California State University, Northridge, Indiana University, and University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in the OCLC. The recto and verso maps also may have been separately issued, though the lack of a dated copyright makes this difficult to verify. A map closely resembling the recto map was printed in color for Thomas Bros.' San Francisco Info-Guide. However, there are other slight differences aside from coloration between that map and the present one (for example, the present map lacks Laurel Hill and Cavalry Cemeteries, which were in the process of being relocated c. 1945).