Mapping Things

I am a cartophile. Which means I love maps. But then who doesn't.

My cartophilia however manifests itself in a specific way. I like mapping collections of 'things'. And I'm not the only one. There are in fact lots of people who seem obsessed with mapping specific categories of thing.

Here are some individual 'things' that I've recently seen mapped:

Skyscrapers - Highrises is a project by a four man team to photograph and map early 20th century American skyscrapers. This is obviously a labor of love and the drone captured photographs of the tops of these iconic buildings are absolutely gorgeous. 

Airports - Random Airport View - The tagline of Random Airport View is it 'Does what it says! It certainly does. Press the 'next' button on Random Airport View and you will be shown a mapped location and a photograph of a random airport. And why not?

Park Benches - Open Benches is an interactive map of 28,592 memorial benches located around the world. After all we all need to sit down and rest our feet occasionally.

Neon Signs - Neon Signs is an interactive map which shows photographs of gas filled tubes of shaped glass. When I first discovered Neon Signs in 2014 it was only interested in the neon signs of Hong Kong. Since then it seems to have found a few examples of neon signs elsewhere in the world.

Pinball Machines - Pinball Map has been mapping the locations of pinball machines around the world since 2008. From Soho down to Brighton the Pinball Map must have mapped them all. It currently shows the location of over 36,000 machines.

Memorial Plaques - The Historical Marker Database records the locations of permanent outdoor historical markers and commemorative plaques. The database allows you to explore the locations of markers and plaques around the world which are used to mark sites of historical importance. 

Lighthouses - Lights at Sea is an interesting map that not only shows the locations of individual lighthouses but also shows the unique flash patterns and light colors which lighthouses use so that mariners can identify them and tell them apart from other lighthouses. Let's be honest - Lights at Sea is really just an excuse to make a fun map of colored flashing circles.

Obviously I am not the only person who is obsessed with mapping a specific category of thing. This list is only a short collection of some of the thousands of unique maps which have been linked to on Maps Mania over the years. If your favorite 'thing' isn't featured in this list try using the search option on Maps Mania. There is a very good chance that at sometime, someone, somewhere has made a map of your favorite 'thing'.