The alphanumeric or symbolic legend accompanying detailed city fireplace insurance coverage paperwork produced in 1892 offered important data for decoding the options depicted on these maps. These legends sometimes elucidated constructing supplies, occupancy varieties, fireplace safety infrastructure (comparable to hydrants and fireplace alarm containers), and different traits related to assessing fireplace danger inside a selected space. An instance can be a logo representing a brick constructing with a selected variety of tales, or a designation indicating the presence and diameter of water mains.
The supply of this interpretive information is important for researchers and historians as a result of it unlocks the huge knowledge encoded inside the maps themselves. With out an understanding of the symbology and annotations, correct evaluation of city improvement, industrial development, and social situations depicted can be unimaginable. The creation of those maps and their accompanying legends displays the numerous concern surrounding fireplace hazards in densely populated areas throughout this era and the necessity for correct danger evaluation by insurance coverage corporations.