Titled simply “Portland,” this 1914 U.S. Geological Survey map presents Maine’s principal seaport and its surrounding countryside at a revealing 1:48,000 topographical scale. Issued under the directorship of George Otis Smith, the sheet belongs to the disciplined, data-rich tradition of early twentieth-century federal cartography, when the USGS was refining a national visual language for landform, settlement, transport, and water. Its “Advance” designation gives it particular interest, suggesting a preliminary or early state intended to circulate useful geographic intelligence promptly. Portland appears here not merely as a city, but as the hub of a wider coastal landscape: coves, islands, tidal waters, rail lines, roads, and rural townships all arranged with the quiet authority of scientific survey.

The map’s design is classic USGS: restrained, legible, and elegant, with muted tones separating land, water, relief, and human infrastructure. Contour lines thread across the sheet, describing the rise and fall of hills, valleys, headlands, and inland ridges with a precision that rewards close study. Around Portland, the contours help reveal the subtle topographic setting of the city—its peninsular form, the lowlands near Back Cove, and the changing elevations toward Westbrook, Gorham, Scarborough, Deering, and Cape Elizabeth. Rather than dramatizing the landscape, the map measures it, translating coastal Maine into a rational system of line and symbol. The result is both practical and quietly beautiful, a portrait of place shaped by geology, water, and settlement.

Portland’s maritime geography is one of the sheet’s great pleasures. Casco Bay opens to the east with its constellation of islands and navigational landmarks, including Peaks Island, Mackworth Island, Fort Gorges, Ram Island, and Treat Island. These features speak to the city’s long relationship with the sea: defense, commerce, fishing, ferry routes, and summer resort culture all depended on the intricate geography of the bay. Fort Gorges, isolated in the harbor, recalls nineteenth-century coastal defense, while Peaks Island hints at the recreational and residential expansion of the era. Southward, Cape Elizabeth and Prouts Neck frame the transition from harbor to open Atlantic, where rocky promontories, beaches, and tidal inlets defined both daily life and coastal identity.

Inland and to the south, the map captures a region in motion. Roads and railways bind Portland to neighboring communities, with the Portland and Rochester Railroad among the transport corridors that shaped trade and travel. Westbrook appears as an important industrial neighbor, tied historically to paper, mills, and waterpower, while Gorham and Scarborough represent the agricultural and village landscapes that still surrounded the growing urban center in 1914. The Saco River and Saco Bay anchor the southern portion of the mapped area, linking freshwater drainage to a broader coastal system. Viewed today, the sheet preserves a moment before many later suburban expansions, highway projects, and shifts in land use transformed the Portland metropolitan landscape.

George Otis Smith’s association with the map adds an important institutional dimension. A Maine-born geologist who served as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1907 to 1930, Smith presided over an era in which federal mapping became increasingly systematic, scientific, and indispensable to public administration. Under his leadership, USGS topographic sheets provided a common geographic framework for engineering, resource study, navigation, planning, and education. This “Portland” sheet reflects that ambition: it is local in subject, but national in method. Its careful depiction of contours, shorelines, settlements, railways, and waterways captures the geography of southern Maine as understood in 1914, offering a richly layered record of a coastal city poised between maritime tradition and modern expansion.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Portland
• Back Cove
• Saco Bay
• Ram Island
• Prouts Neck
• Peaks Island
• Westbrook
• Gorham
• Scarborough
• Deering
• Cape Elizabeth
• Casco Bay
• Fort Gorges
• Mackworth Island
• Treat Island
• Saco River
• Various roads and railways, including the Portland and Rochester Railroad

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the U.S. Geological Survey
• Mapmaker: George Otis Smith, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1914
• Created in 1914
• Marked as an “Advance” edition
• Historical 1:48,000 topographical scale
• Features contour lines indicating elevation changes
• Uses a classic muted color palette typical of early 20th-century maps
• Utilizes Geological Survey mapping conventions
• Shows topographic variation including hills, valleys, and water bodies
• Reflects the geography of the Portland, Maine area as understood in 1914
• Documents the area before later urban development and changes in land use

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

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 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

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.