Historical Information

Use of Archives

Please prearrange an appointment with the archivist if you intend to visit the archive in person. Use of the material will require filling out a registration form, and all patrons are monitored and assisted. No food or drink is allowed.

Reproductions

Images created with hand-held cameras or cell-phones are allowed. If you desire a higher quality image, we can provide it. If this is for personal use, we can deliver a digital image. Use in publications may involve a fee. We do not offer reproduction services.

We will ask you to fill out a form with contact information and outlining some Terms of Use:

• Permission is for one-time, one-project use only
• Photographs may be cropped to suit design and layout, but they may not be altered, colorized, or drawn upon without prior written agreement.
• Images are not to be resold without prior written agreement.
• Credit must be given to the Boynton Beach City Library with the credit line “From the Collection of the Boynton Beach City Library” and to the creator of the original work, if known. Credit must appear on or below the image, or in a designated credit section. 
• Boynton Beach City Library reserves the right to decline permission to requestors who have not complied with these conditions or whose use is deemed inappropriate. 
• Boynton Beach City Library assumes no responsibility for infraction of copyright laws, invasion of privacy or any other improper or illegal use that may arise from reproduction of any collection materials. Requestor assumes full and sole responsibility for the use of the duplication and shall pay and indemnify and hold Boynton Beach City Library or the City of Boynton Beach and its agents harmless from and against all claims, damages, losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities of every kind (including attorneys' fees) arising out of the requestor's use, or out of the requestor's breach or alleged breach of the use or license agreement. 
• In some cases, the Boynton Beach City Library will request that a copy of the finished product be donated to our collections.
   

• 1885-1995 timeline of Boynton Beach history (courtesy of the Palm Beach Post)

Sanborn Maps  1924 & 1940

The Sanborn Map Company was a publisher of detailed maps of U.S. cities and towns in the 19th and 20th centuries. The maps were originally created to allow fire insurance companies to assess their total liability in urbanized areas of the United States. Since they contain detailed information about properties and individual buildings in approximately 12,000 U.S. cities and towns, Sanborn maps are invaluable for documenting changes in the built environment of American cities over many decades. (Wikipedia, retrieved 9/12/2019)

Sanborn Maps for the Boynton Beach downtown exist for 1924 and 1940 which can be found below. Additionally, the Library of Congress has Sanborn Maps available of Palm Beach County and the University of Florida has Sanborn Maps of other various cities/counties in Florida.