Published in 1948 under the title “Indianapolis West,” this U.S. Geological Survey topographical map presents the western portion of Indiana’s capital at a pivotal postwar moment. Drawn at the precise 1:24,000 scale, it captures Indianapolis as both a dense urban center and a city still deeply connected to its surrounding rural landscape. The map’s disciplined grid, measured contours, and carefully differentiated land-use coloring reveal neighborhoods, transport corridors, parks, waterways, and open tracts with exceptional clarity. It is a portrait of transition: streets and railways press outward from the city core, while agricultural parcels and wooded areas remain close at hand, illustrating the changing geography of Indianapolis in the late 1940s.

The U.S. Geological Survey brought to this map the institutional rigor that made its quadrangles indispensable for engineers, planners, geologists, and travelers. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify and understand the nation’s terrain, the USGS developed a cartographic language of contours, symbols, benchmarks, roads, railroads, and hydrography that balanced scientific accuracy with practical readability. Here, that language is applied to Indianapolis with quiet authority. Elevation changes are expressed through clear contour lines, while the regular street grid and sectional land divisions impose order upon a landscape of rivers, neighborhoods, parkland, and industrial infrastructure. The result is not merely a navigational document, but a finely observed civic and environmental record.

Indianapolis itself appears as a layered urban landscape, with the Near-Westside neighborhoods—including Haughville—standing out as part of the city’s industrial and residential fabric. Major routes such as Michigan Road and Kentucky Avenue speak to older arteries of movement, commerce, and regional connection, while rail lines and railway stations underscore the city’s role as a transportation hub. These features help evoke the Indianapolis of the late 1940s: a place shaped by manufacturing, freight movement, commuting patterns, and the expanding demands of a postwar population. The map’s grid references and parcel divisions further emphasize the practical realities of land ownership, municipal planning, and the measured transformation of city blocks into a modern metropolitan environment.

Natural features provide a compelling counterpoint to the urban structure. The White River winds through the mapped area, anchoring the landscape both geographically and historically, while local creeks, lowlands, and subtle rises are articulated through the topographic system. Parks such as Riverside Park and Brookside Park introduce green spaces into the otherwise structured urban field, revealing the importance of recreation, floodplain land, and civic open space within the growing city. The Eagle Creek corridor, later associated with one of Indianapolis’s major recreational reservoirs, appears within this broader western landscape as part of the hydrological network that shaped settlement, transportation, and land use long before suburban expansion transformed the area.

As a historical document, “Indianapolis West” offers a richly detailed glimpse of a city standing between wartime industry and suburban acceleration. The late 1940s were years of infrastructure investment, housing growth, automobile-oriented development, and gradual outward expansion, all of which can be read in the relationship between streets, rail lines, undeveloped tracts, and established neighborhoods. The map’s blend of urban density and open land makes it especially evocative: Indianapolis is shown not as a finished metropolis, but as a landscape in motion. For collectors of American city maps, Indiana history, or USGS cartography, it preserves a carefully measured moment when the capital’s modern form was still emerging from its older urban and rural foundations.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Indianapolis
• White River
• Eagle Creek Reservoir
• Butler University
• Riverside Park
• Brookside Park
• Near-Westside neighborhoods, including Haughville
• Michigan Road
• Kentucky Avenue
• Rail lines and railway stations
• Land parcels identified by grid reference

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published in 1948 by the US Geological Survey
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Indianapolis, Indiana and the surrounding area
• Shows Indianapolis’ urban layout, major thoroughfares, parks, and surrounding rural areas
• Features clear contour lines representing elevation changes
• Includes a grid layout for navigation and reference
• Uses color-coded land use, including urban, agricultural, and wooded areas
• Displays a mix of urban development and natural landscapes
• Shows waterways and notable elevation variation
• Reflects post-World War II urban expansion and changing land use in late-1940s Indianapolis
• Provides historical insight into infrastructure, transportation, and land development at the time

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 16x20in (40x50cm) 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.