Rand McNally & Co.'s Map of the Main Portion of Boston presents the city in 1904 at the height of its urban confidence, distilled into a meticulous street plan alive with rail lines, stations, wharfs, and named buildings. This richly annotated city map captures Boston as a working harbor metropolis where maritime trade, rail transport, and dense neighborhoods knit together a singular civic fabric. A clear legend, judicious color, and crisp labeling guide the eye from the waterfront inward, revealing how avenues, bridges, and public spaces interlock. As a portrait of a great American city in motion, it is notable for the clarity with which it reconciles beauty and function—an essential register of how Bostonians moved, worked, and gathered at the turn of the century.

At the city’s heart, Boston Common anchors the plan, edged by Tremont, Park, and Charles Streets, with Beacon and Boylston tracing elegant lines toward Arlington Street and the ordered vistas beyond. The Charles River defines the northern horizon, a calm counterpoint to the bustle of downtown streets. Washington Street threads through the commercial core, while Winter, West, and School Streets signal a dense retail and theater district. The map’s notations of several parks and public squares, along with numerous buildings of public interest, illuminate the civic spine of Boston’s center—its courts, churches, markets, and meeting places—making this an unusually revealing city map for understanding daily life and ceremonial space alike.

Skirting the edge of the peninsula, Atlantic Avenue runs parallel to the wharfs, where the city’s maritime economy hums. The Northern Avenue Bridge links the waterfront’s working piers and warehouses, a feat of connectivity that the map records with satisfying precision. Congress and Purchase Streets radiate inland from the docks, translating harbor energy into mercantile districts further uptown. Here, the cartography is dense with labeled wharfs and industrial frontage, underscoring Boston’s role as a port that fed factories, rail yards, and markets. This waterfront panorama, drawn with a surveyor’s discipline, lets the viewer read commerce directly from the street plan—a rare and valuable perspective for a city map of this period.

Rail travel, the lifeblood of early 20th-century Boston, is rendered as an elegant web culminating at Southern Union Depot, the grand hub where regional lines converge. Tracks and stations are plotted with care as they traverse the South End along Columbus Avenue, Harrison Avenue, and Shawmut Avenue, and sweep past Kneeland and Essex Streets into the busy core. By charting both lines and terminals, the map reveals how commuting patterns and freight corridors shaped neighborhoods and business districts. This is what makes the map especially compelling: it turns infrastructure into narrative, allowing you to trace the city’s rhythms from depot to dock, from outlying stops to the pulse of downtown.

Neighborhood identities are inscribed in the street names themselves. Federal and High Streets mark the financial precincts; Congress Street speaks to municipal power; Hanover and Salem Streets carry the texture of the North End; and Broadway, Northampton, and Russell announce the sweep of residential expansion. The balance of utility and aesthetic—hallmarks of Rand McNally’s early 20th-century style—shows in legible typography, measured color, and a well-ordered legend. Known for accuracy and wide distribution, the firm helped set national standards for urban cartography. In this map, their craft becomes a time capsule: a definitive record of Boston’s layout, landmarks, and connective tissue at a moment when the modern American city was taking its enduring shape.

Streets and roads on this map

• Arlington Street
• Atlantic Avenue
• Beacon Street
• Boylston Street
• Broadway
• Charles Street
• Congress Street
• Columbus Avenue
• Essex Street
• Federal Street
• Hanover Street
• Harrison Avenue
• High Street
• Kneeland Street
• Lincoln Street
• Milford Street
• Northampton Street
• Park Street
• Purchase Street
• Russell Street
• Salem Street
• School Street
• Shawmut Avenue
• Tremont Street
• Washington Street
• West Street
• Winter Street

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Boston Common
• Charles River
• Northern Avenue Bridge
• Southern Union Depot
• Several parks and public squares
• Various railway lines and stations
• Wharfs along the waterfront
• Numerous buildings marked for public interest

Historical and design context

• Date of creation: 1904.
• Mapmaker/Publisher: Rand McNally & Company, known for widely distributed, accurate maps that played a crucial role in America’s cartographic history.
• Topics and themes: Urban infrastructure, including transportation (railways and streets), landmarks, and public spaces reflecting Boston’s early 20th-century development.
• Design/style: Use of colors and detailed cartographic elements, including a legend and points of interest, balancing utility and aesthetic in early 20th-century cartography.
• Historical significance: A historical document of Boston’s urban layout at the turn of the 20th century, capturing key landmarks and transportation networks.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.

We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.

Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.

Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.

All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.

If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.