Mapping the 20th century


 

Maps contain multitudes: They’re straightforward, practical tools, but they’re also works of art with intrinsic aesthetic value.

A new exhibit on the first floor of West Sibley Hall showcases maps on city and regional planning from Cornell University Library’s Map Collection. They depict urban areas in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and they were created with varied audiences in mind: transit users, city planners and decision-makers.

The exhibit – “Land Use, Transit and Urban Redevelopment Illustrated ((1933-1972): A Walk through Twentieth Century Maps from Cornell’s Map Collection” – is co-sponsored by the Department of City and Regional Planning and the Map Collection at Olin and Uris Libraries.

It will be on display in West Sibley Hall through Dec. 15 and restaged in early 2014 in the map display cases in Olin Library’s lower level.