{"product_id":"old-map-of-tampa-florida-by-usgs-1947-hillsborough-bay-davis-islands-mckay-bay","title":"Old Map of Tampa, Florida by USGS, 1947 – Hillsborough Bay, Davis Islands \u0026 McKay Bay","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Tampa,” produced by the United States Geological Survey in 1947, presents the city at a revealing moment in its modern history: just after the upheavals of World War II and before the explosive suburban growth of the later twentieth century. At the unusually detailed scale of 1:25,000, the map gives an intimate topographical portrait of Tampa and its immediate surroundings, combining street grids, rail corridors, waterfronts, precinct boundaries, and subtle elevation contours. The result is both a working scientific document and a compelling urban record. Its red-shaded urban areas immediately distinguish the built city from the lower-density landscapes around it, allowing the viewer to see, almost at a glance, where Tampa’s civic and commercial life was most intensely concentrated in 1947.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mapmaker, the U.S. Geological Survey, brought to this sheet the institutional precision for which it had been known since its founding in 1879. USGS maps were created to serve practical needs—engineering, land management, transportation, defense, and civic planning—but they often possess a quiet visual elegance born from disciplined observation. Here, Tampa is rendered through the conventions of mid-century American topographic mapping: clean lettering, carefully differentiated roads and railways, measured contours, and color used sparingly but decisively. The red urban tint is especially evocative, transforming the map into a snapshot of settlement patterns. It shows not merely where streets were laid, but where the city had cohered into a dense metropolitan fabric.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHillsborough Bay gives the composition its geographic drama, curving along Tampa’s edge and anchoring the city to the broader watery landscape of Florida’s Gulf Coast. The map records the intricate meeting of land and water around Seddon Island, Davis Islands, and McKay Bay, each of which played a role in Tampa’s evolving relationship with commerce, recreation, and residential expansion. Davis Islands, with its planned form and proximity to the city, stands out as a striking example of early twentieth-century urban ambition, while McKay Bay suggests the industrial and maritime character of Tampa’s eastern waterfront. The bay, channels, islands, and shorelines are not incidental scenery; they are the very framework within which the city developed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dense network of streets, roads, and railways captures Tampa as a regional hub in the years when rail transport, port activity, and automobile circulation overlapped in shaping urban growth. Rail lines thread through the mapped area with the purposeful geometry of commerce, linking industrial zones, waterfront facilities, neighborhoods, and the wider interior of Florida. The streets reveal a city expanding outward from older cores into gridded residential districts and developing suburban edges. Marked precincts add another layer of historical texture, hinting at municipal organization, local governance, and the administrative geography of the period. For historians of urban planning, the map offers a disciplined record of land use and infrastructure at a pivotal postwar threshold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough Tampa is often imagined through its waterfront and subtropical atmosphere, this topographic sheet reminds us that even modest changes in elevation mattered in a low-lying coastal city. Contours, lakes, bay margins, and drained or developed lands together describe a landscape shaped by both natural conditions and human intervention. Parks, water bodies, islands, roadways, and neighborhoods appear as interlocking components of a growing metropolis negotiating the constraints and opportunities of its setting. As a historical document, the 1947 “Tampa” map is particularly valuable because it preserves the city before later highways, intensified suburbanization, and large-scale redevelopment transformed the region. It is a finely measured portrait of Tampa at mid-century—practical, precise, and quietly beautiful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTampa\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHillsborough Bay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeddon Island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDavis Islands\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcKay Bay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSurrounding neighborhoods and geographic features\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrecincts marked in various areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoads and railways\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParks and lakes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:25,000 topographical map of Tampa, Florida, dated 1947.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated by the US Geological Survey, known for authoritative geological and topographical mapping in the United States since its founding in 1879.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses color-coded areas, with significant portions shaded in red to denote urbanized regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes detailed street layouts and topographic contours.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows the terrain of Tampa and the adjacent Hillsborough Bay, including elevation changes and water bodies.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects post-World War II development in Tampa, including urban expansion and changing land use.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSignificant for urban planning and historical studies of the Tampa area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58802385092992,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58802385125760,"sku":null,"price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58802385158528,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58802385191296,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58802385224064,"sku":null,"price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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