Digital projects

Below are a list of projects that have brought historical maps back to life:

University of Waterloo: Campus Progression Through Imagery

In 1958, the Waterloo College of Associate Faculties, not yet their own university, acquired approximately 200 acres of land on what is now the University of Waterloo's main campus. Over the next six decades, the university would go through massive development and grow to become a nationally and internationally acclaimed academic institution.

This StoryMap aims to show a progression of the university's main campus using orthoimagery, while providing a bit of history on the university's development.

University of Waterloo: Study Spots on Campus

If you're in search of a space on campus to study, this map may have just the spot for you.

Historical Maps: Past and Present

Peruse through some historical maps of the Region, Toronto and Ottawa, using the Swipe feature in ArcGIS Online. 

1875 Structures of Kitchener

View a hand-drawn map of Berlin, and spot which structures still exist today. 

Forgotten Homes of Kitchener

As part of the data analysis that Geospatial staff have conducted using transcribed and geocoded Vernon city directories, Geospatial Centre presents one of many themed story maps: The Forgotten Homes of Kitchener. This Story Map highlights a neighbourhood that was thriving with life - people, homes, streets and stories - but now in its place stands a parking lot. Let's resurface the past and honour the individuals who made a living and an impact in early Kitchener. For other themed maps, please visit Historical Vernon City Directories Mapped. 

Kitchener Historical Vernon City Directories Mapped

Vernon City Directories from 1900-2000 have been digitized, transcribed, geocoded and mapped, resulting in an openly available searchable database, webmap, as well as multiple historical data product maps. Delve into the past and learn about the individuals who lived and worked in Berlin/Kitchener, as well as the numerous impactful manufacturers that have made what Kitchener is today.

Historical Maps of the Region of Waterloo

Several historical maps have been scanned and made available for viewing using the ArcGIS Online App Gallery. 

Digital Historical Air Photos of the City of Guelph

Air photos for the City of Guelph for the years 1930, 1955, and 1966 have been scanned, digitized and georeferenced and are available for public viewing and downloading. Image formats include jpg, tiff, pdf, and KMZ files (for Google Earth).  All image formats can be viewed in a GIS program.

For access to the original scanned images or paper air photos, please visit the Geospatial Centre.

Kitchener Historical Street Project (1853 - 1992)

This web map, created by the Geospatial Centre, shows the City of Kitchener's road network for various decades ranging from 1853 to 1992. This data was derived from digitized copies of old street maps of the city. It is intended to showcase the change in Kitchener's road network over the course of this time frame.

Downtown Kitchener Fire Insurance Plan of 1908 (revised and reprinted 1947)

As part of a much larger project to digitize building footprints from the Region of Waterloo Fire Insurance Plans, Geospatial Centre staff digitized the building parcels from the 1908 Kitchener Fire Insurance Plans (based on the zonal subdivision (1-54). Story Map is used to graphically illustrate the building shapefiles with detailed metadata. This second map is a comparison of Downtown Kitchener Building Footprints of 1917 & 1947.

A Historical Hike through the Forests of Waterloo Region: 1843 Vegetation Survey of Waterloo Region

This Story Map is the result of unpublished Masters (MES) research by Karrow, Thomas (2013), a published article by Thomas Karrow and Roger Suffling (2015) along with expertise from the staff at the University of Waterloo, Geospatial Centre.

Air photos digitization project

In October 2007, the University map library launched the Air photos digitization project, where approximately 2000 historical air photos for the years 1930, 1945-47, 1955, 1963 and 1966 of Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas were scanned and saved electronically.

Air photo interactive map index

This interactive map index provides the library's complete paper aerial photography and photomap coverages. To access photos, please visit the Geospatial Centre.

Pre-settlement vegetation mapping project (Karrow, T. and Suffling, R.)

This website provides a database of known pre-settlement vegetation maps, created from early survey data. Three distinct 'metamaps' represent cartographic endeavours from different sources.