City Maps

Maps of Fort William, Port Arthur, and Thunder Bay at various times in those cities' history are available at the Archives. A selection of historic maps are scanned and can be viewed on this site.

 Map of Fort William, 1913

This map of Fort William was prepared in 1913 by E.R. Bingham and the Dominion Land Surveyor. This map includes municipal wards, drawn on at a later date.

  • If you require a higher resolution, please contact the Archives.

a handrawn map of Fort William showing streets and major buildings

 

 Map of Port Arthur, 1942

This map was produced by the Office of the City Engineer, Port Arthur, in 1942.

 

A hand drawn map of Port Arthur showing city streets and buildings

 

Accession #1993-23

Historical Development Animation

Aerial Photographs, 1949-2002

Aerial photographs were taken of large portions of Fort William, Port Arthur, and Thunder Bay on a regular basis, from 1949 to the present. These photographs act as a literal snapshot of the buildings, infrastructure, and landscape of the Cities at various points in time.

Index maps to each of the sets of aerial photographs are provided on this page. To consult any individual photograph, contact or visit the City Archives

Fort William, 1949
 A map of Fort William showing major roads, bodies of water and buildings

 Fort William, 1955
 A map of Fort William including roads, bodies of water and major buildings

 Port Arthur and Fort William, 1959
a map of the combined streets, buildings and waterways of two cities

 Port Arthur Urban Renewal Area, 1968
 A map showing a detailed look at streets in Port Arthur

 Port Arthur and Fort William, 1969
 A map of both cities including streets, bodies of water and buildings

 Thunder Bay, 1974
 A map showing all major landmarks in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 1976
 A map showing major landmarks in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 1981
 A map showing all major landmarks in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 1983
 A map showing major landmarks in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 1987
 A map with yellow highlighting showing streets and roads

 Thunder Bay, 1991
 A map showing streets and roads in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 1996
 A map showing the roads and streets in the City of Thunder Bay

 Thunder Bay, 2002
 A map with blue highlight shows streets and roads

Fire Insurance Plans, 1919-1961

The City Archives has copies of Fire Insurance Plans for Fort William and Port Arthur drawn in several different years. The Fire Insurance Plans show the locations and details of the construction of buildings. These plans can be consulted digitally or on paper at the Archives. To consult any individual photograph, contact or visit the City Archives

 Fort William, 1919 (Updated 1950)

 Index Map for 1919/1950 Fort William fire insurance plans.

A coloured map detailing the city of Fort Williams Roads and Houses

 Port Arthur, 1942

 Index Map for 1942 Port Arthur fire insurance plans.

A map showing housing lots and city streets

 Fort William, 1961

Index Map for 1961 Fort William fire insurance plans.

A map detailing housing lots and city streets

Port Arthur 1908 + Legend for Interpretting Fire Maps

The first Town Hall can be seen in this fire insurance map from 1908, located in the bottom right corner, listed as the Masonic Hall. Fire Insurance Plans were maps of all of the buildings in a location that an insurance company used to assess the risk of fire.

 

A hand drawn map showing the location of Port Arthur Town Hall

 

The key for the symbols on the map is provided below.


A sheet with different symbols and their meanings

 

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