[Stylo]

I find this incredibly cool:

1934 Connecticut Fairchild Aerial Photography Map Mash-up

The maps are a little too compressed, so if you want a higher res version of a certain area, go here:

Research Guide to Aerial Photographs at the Connecticut State Library

Neat way to see how drastically different the areas we live in were 77 years ago. You can also view other decades on the above link.

The house where I grew up was built in 1971 and surrounded by tall trees. In 1934 it would've been in the middle of a field belonging to a farmhouse up the road.

Where I live now in Milford was simply forest. Completely undeveloped and none of the roads around me existed. The only civilization in this part of town was down the street from me, where it looks like dense, tiny beach houses were packed in near the water where a still-dense neighborhood now exists. I'm sure the vast majority of those homes were destroyed in the Long Island Express hurricane. I doubt any of those tiny homes are left.

No highways, no strip malls, and tons of farms. Plenty of dirt roads too, I'd imagine.

[Cambium]

Very cool. Thanks! Cant find a KML file for it to install into GEarth

[Arm&Hammer]

I can not believed what they have done to Hartford historic buidlings and those crazy parking lot... what a sad story for Hartford... I hope one day they can built new with a strong historic look like they done in Boston. Same with New Britain and there are so many houses that were there and factories that were once there and I think they should never put that highway which ruined the Downtown New Britain. This is a great lost!

Dose anybody feel this way... that is just wrong

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Cambium

Very cool. Thanks! Cant find a KML file for it to install into GEarth

Adding Geospatial Data from a Web Mapping Service (WMS)

Does that help?

[dkv]

Thanks for posting that.

[7 Wishes]

Awesome!

[AntonioR]

For those of you that might be interested, in the following link you can get a better understanding of how Stamford looked like in the 1930s and other decades prior to the 1960s urban renewal. This link is a nice bonus to the one offered by the OP.

The Stamford Historical Society, Downtown Stamford Urban Renewal

[rockfender]

Excuse me for the old thread bump, but I just came across this tool today.

I am just completely dumbstruck by how destructive the urban renewal era was to Connecticut's cities. The era's impact on places like New Haven and Hartford is pretty well documented, but I had never seen a view into the pre-WWII era for the city closest to where I grew up: Waterbury.

This:
1934 Connecticut Fairchild Aerial Photography Map Mash-up and Neighborhood Change in Connecticut, 1934 to Present

Wow--I had never realized how much I-84 took away from Waterbury! It looks as though the entire southern part of downtown was obliterated, and not just by the highway (see where Home Depot is now; that used to be an entire row of buildings lining the street). Just incredible how little regard there was for the existing urban fabric and community.

While I don't think there's anything that could have stopped the brass mills from moving away, I always wondered "what if" Waterbury had kept its downtown intact, including the mills? I think Waterbury could have made a similar transition as Lowell, MA did if it retained more of its history and took more advantage of its connection to the NY area. Too bad that chance has largely passed by.

[HumpDay]

Look at the density in Hartford back in 1934. There were barely any parking lots. Compare to today and you can't go one block without seeing a parking lot especially near downtown.

[WouldLoveTo]

This is so cool! Can't wait to try it at home - the work computer is not rendering it well. I have a 1600s map of CT printed out for my home office. Love this stuff!