New Article: Dating Every Building in Boston

Using tax assessment data or digital maps, we can figure out the City of Boston’s best guess for the age of any one of the city’s more than 100,000 structures. But what if you wanted to easily visualize construction dates across the entire city? What data techniques would you need to rely on—and where would you even start? Read this new article and original digital project to see how our GIS & Geohumanities Assistant, Kate Lautenbach, processed hundreds of thousands of data records and created a colorful, interactive map that reveals fascinating patterns about Boston’s past and present.

Read the full article → 

In-Person: Jim O’Connell on Boston and the Making of a Global City · Jan 8, 12 pm ET

Join Boston University professor Jim O’Connell for a lunchtime conversation about his new book, Boston and the Making of a Global City. The book explores how Boston has been shaped by globalization and how it has also affected the processes of globalization. O’Connell teaches in the City Planning-Urban Affairs Program at Boston University and has a Ph.D. in Urban History from the University of Chicago. He will be in discussion with Marilynn S. Johnson (Boston College Department of History).

Lunch will be served and registration is required to attend.

Register for the event → 

In-Person: From the Vault Map Collection Showings · Dec 12 & 19, 2 pm ET

Our last two map collection showings of the year are quickly approaching! On December 12, Facades of Urban Past will offer a peek into urban history through some of the Leventhal Center’s oldest city maps. On December 19, we will share Favorite Maps of 2025. We’ve run the numbers and this is an opportunity to show you some of our most popular maps of the last year amongst researchers and digital users!

Event details → 

New Stories in ARGO

Curious about how the young United States decided how to organize their newly acquired territory after the American Revolution? Or about how the geography of colonial New York City contributed to its swift rise as the entry point for the new nation? These are just two of the newest articles available in ARGO, the American Revolutionary Geographies Online project. The project is funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives.

Read the articles → 

Newsletter Trivia: Symphony Hall

Boston’s Symphony Hall just celebrated its 125th birthday! Designed by Charles McKim, who also designed the Central Library, Symphony Hall is a landmark of Boston’s musical past and present. What other major cultural institution also used to sit on Huntington Avenue between Symphony Hall and Copley Square?

1. Institute of Contemporary Art

2. Mechanics Hall

3. Boston Athenaeum

4. Fenway Park

The answer to last week’s question about which of the neighborhoods is not represented in the basswood model of Boston is Hyde Park.

Correct answers will be included in a random drawing—the winner will receive the next three Map of the Month club postcards for free. Congratulations to our last winner, Ashley! In order to enter, make sure you follow us on Bluesky, Instagram or Facebook and direct message or email us the answer to the question. We’ll accept answers until December 15 at 9 am ET.

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