Ames, Iowa, then and now
Ames, Iowa three ways: the 1912 USGS survey map, the 1975 USGS map, and a 2023 aerial photo, all lined up on exactly the same 4 x 4 km of ground. The Iowa State campus, Campustown, downtown Ames and Squaw Creek sit in the same spot in every panel, so you can watch the town grow over 111 years.
These are real maps, not illustrations. I start from the U.S. Geological Survey's scans of the original sheets, align each one to the same ground using its survey coordinates, clean them up, and lay them out as a print.
What you get for Ames, Iowa
- Then & Now print, 3:2 landscape, 7200 x 4800 px at 300 dpi. Sharp at 12x8 and 18x12 inches, good up to 36x24.
- The 1912 map on its own, 4:5 portrait, 4800 x 6000 px at 300 dpi. Fits 8x10, 16x20 and 20x25 inch frames.
- Plus the same two files for every other town on this site, all for one price.
Sources
USGS topographic maps, 1912: Ames 1912 (1:62,500); 1975: Ames East 1975, Ames West 1975 (1:24,000). Aerial: USDA NAIP 2023. Public domain sources, restored and aligned to the same ground. Previews on this page are reduced in size; the files you download are full resolution.