Mapping St. Louis: A History of the Gateway City in 40 Rare Maps

In the digital age, maps are more important and accessible than ever. Today, thanks to mobile devices, maps literally tell you where you are going. But maps were just as important in the past. They not only helped you navigate the world, but they also guided future plans and dreams. Mapping St. Louis charts the growth of the city from its founding in the 1760s to the present day. It does so by interweaving 40 maps along with short essays, detailed views, and captioned illustrations that provide stories and history that are only hinted at on each map. Many different styles of maps are featured—maps for exploration and navigation, pocket and atlas maps, development and planning maps, pictorial maps, and fantasy maps. The 40 maps are reproduced as large as each page will allow in order to afford the viewer as close a look as possible. Mapping St. Louis is your guide to charting St. Louis’s rich history, and may spark ideas about where the city may be heading.

Andy Hahn is a 7th generation St. Louisan who has been passionate about history and maps since he was a kid. As a student at St. Louis University, he interned at the Cupples House, where he was bitten by the old house bug. Since 2003, he has worked as director of the Campbell House Museum, an 1851 townhouse in downtown St. Louis. Andy has served on the American Association of State and Local History Historic House Committee and the boards of the Lafayette Park Conservancy and the Friends of Tower Grove Park. This is his first book.