Once, every car had one of these, usually under the front seat

By adamg on Thu., 2/2/2023 - 9:29 am

Ari Ofsevit recalls the atlases of yore, back in the pre-Google Maps days.

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Comments

911 required removing duplicate street names?

By Ron Newman
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 5:25am

That somehow never happened in Boston (multiple Washington Streets), Cambridge (two Elm Streets), Somerville (two Oxford Streets, not to mention Highland Avenue and Highland Road, Pearson Avenue and Pearson Road, Hall Street and Hall Avenue, Boston Street and Boston Avenue, and likely others I've forgotten)

Summit Ave versus Summit St

By xyz
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 10:24am

Summit Ave versus Summit St in Somerville. Church in Boston (think there might actually be three Church Sts in the city limits), and of course, Boylston--a mistake many of us make once.

Maybe it wasn't a hard

By Dave
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 2:31pm

Maybe it wasn't a hard requirement, but it was enforced as such in my former town of Dedham.

This mentions how it was being handled in Danbury.
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Duplicate-s...

Some places (I think) didn't

By Rob
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 7:54pm

Some places (I think) didn't rename redundant streets, but did renumber houses (all houses on a given street) so there was no duplication of numbers

Would rideshare have thrived...

By Friartuck
Thu, 02/02/2023 - 3:23pm

If drivers still relied on maps?

The Universal atlas was

By Charles Olson
Thu, 02/02/2023 - 5:56pm

The Universal atlas was terrible. The Arrow atlas was much more readable, and was ordered geographically so it was easier to navigate between towns.

Another good one: Jimapco

By lbb
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 9:52am

Growing up in upstate New York, I used Jimapco a lot. For those who don't know, New York has a lot of numbered county roads, and they can be super confusing. Jimapcos were the way to figure them out (and may still be the best way, given my Garmin's tendency to refer to roads by some obscure name that is not the highway signs..."Turn right on...Elmer...Flarglebargle...Highway."). These were absolutely essential for navigating around the 'dacks. I love the convenience of GPS, and not having to stop and look at a map (which isn't always possible or safe), but it's probably worth picking up an up-to-date Jimapco book if you plan on spending much time in that area.

Still have mine...

By merlinmurph
Fri, 02/03/2023 - 1:17pm

...don't ask me the last time I used it....