Collection F2064 - Birds-Eye Views collection

The collection consists of non-photographic, panoramic maps of various Canadian cities and urban centres including Halifax, Lunenburg, Moncton, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Sorel, Brantford, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Port Arthur, Simcoe, St. Catharines, Tillsonburg, Toronto, Morris, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Yukon. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, major Canadian cities and urban centres followed a North American trend in having panoramic maps - more commonly called bird's-eye views - prepared. These non-photographic illustrations viewed cities from above at an oblique angle - a remarkable achievement in the days before aerial photography. They showed street patterns, major landscapes, and a variety of structures including churches, mansions, single dwellings, industrial plants, office blocks, retail and wholesale businesses, and government buildings.