The alphanumeric or symbolic legend accompanying detailed city fireplace insurance coverage paperwork produced in 1892 supplied important data for decoding the options depicted on these maps. These legends sometimes elucidated constructing supplies, occupancy varieties, fireplace safety infrastructure (akin to hydrants and fireplace alarm packing containers), and different traits related to assessing fireplace threat inside a particular space. An instance can be a logo representing a brick constructing with a particular variety of tales, or a designation indicating the presence and diameter of water mains.
The supply of this interpretive information is essential for researchers and historians as a result of it unlocks the huge knowledge encoded inside the maps themselves. With out an understanding of the symbology and annotations, correct evaluation of city growth, industrial development, and social situations depicted can be inconceivable. The creation of those maps and their accompanying legends displays the numerous concern surrounding fireplace hazards in densely populated areas throughout this era and the necessity for correct threat evaluation by insurance coverage corporations.
