The City of New York

This remarkable map titled “The City of New York”, designed by Richard Edes Harrison, captures the urban complexity and ambition of New York City at a pivotal moment in American history—on the eve of World War II, during the height of the Great Depression’s aftermath, and amid the fervor of the 1939 World’s Fair.

Harrison, a noted cartographer and graphic designer, was known for revolutionizing thematic cartography through dynamic perspectives and an acute understanding of how visual language could convey complex geopolitical or urban narratives. This map exemplifies that philosophy. Unlike traditional city maps with rigid north-up orientation and uniform tones, Harrison’s depiction is vivid, analytical, and deeply interpretive.

The key feature of this map is it's bold use of color coding, explained in the legend. It distinguishes land uses such as residential (yellow), industrial (purple), and commercial (red). Parks, cemeteries, undeveloped lands, and water bodies are also marked with great care.

In addition, the map includes population distribution diagrams in the bottom-right corner that visualize day and night populations of each borough. This highlights an important urban phenomenon: how economic activity and commuting patterns affect the cityscape, underscoring the early understanding of urban planning concepts such as “urban flow” and the spatial organization of labor.

The map's clarity, aesthetic quality, and sophisticated layering of information reflect Harrison’s genius and the emerging role of cartography as an instrument of modern insight. It remains one of the most celebrated urban maps of the pre-war period, and its legacy continues to inspire how we visualize and interpret cities today.