Blog Historic Aerials -

Modern aerial view showing visible earthwork outlines and geometric shapes at the Junction Earthworks site, appearing as crop and vegetation patterns in an open field.

Archaeology from Above: How Historic Aerial Photos and LiDAR Reveal Time Depth in the Landscape

Historic aerial imagery plays a critical role in archaeology by preserving time depth—revealing how landscapes changed long before modern development erased surface evidence. A farm field in midsummer looks like

Public Domain Day 2026

Why 1930 Sanborn Maps are in now in the public domain…and how the rules actually work Every January 1, a quiet but meaningful shift occurs in the historical record. Another

An Update on Our Free Viewer and Ad Blockers

Historic Aerials has always been built around a simple idea: historical aerial imagery should be easy to explore, searchable, and available to everyone. From the beginning, we’ve worked hard to

Aerial view of Koziar’s Christmas Village in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, illuminated with extensive holiday light displays at night

The Reindeer’s Eye View: America’s Christmas Towns

Christmas Eve Origins Some places celebrate Christmas. Others were, according to local legend, named by it. In both Santa Claus, Indiana, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the stories begin on Christmas Eve.One

1928 aerial photograph of Manhattan showing the island, surrounding waterways, and dense urban development.

Edith Keating: Aerial Photography’s First Woman Pioneer

In 1925, Edith Keating was hired to type memos at Fairchild Aerial Surveys in New York City. It was a standard administrative role, but Keating proved to be a distracted

An illustration contrasting modern football players from Michigan and Ohio State facing off in the foreground against a sepia-toned background of 19th-century militias with pitchforks and muskets.

From the Toledo War to The Game: How a Misdrawn Map Fueled the Michigan–Ohio Rivalry

Three days from now, when Ohio State and Michigan line up for The Game, millions will tune in for a football rivalry. What they’ll actually be watching is the latest

The Secret Places Where New Cars Are Sent to Be Broken

As a new resident of Arizona, I’ve spent some time scrolling through aerial imagery of the surrounding landscape, examining the evolution of cities like Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa over the

Construction activity at the White House East Wing during demolition work for a planned new ballroom, October 2025.

White House Renovations: The Changing Face of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

To understand the significance of this latest addition, it helps to remember that the White House has been a work in progress since the early 19th century. Most presidents who’ve

How HistoricAerials Helps Authors Rebuild The Past

There’s a certain poetry to seeing the past from above. The faint outline of a gravel lot, the ghost of a screen’s shadow, the looping pattern of old car ramps.

Let’s Get To Know Each Other From Arizona With Aerials

Just a little announcement to make: my boxes have been packed and I’m heading west. The headline isn’t the highway, though. It’s the destination: I’m currently on my way to

How America’s Earliest Airfields Live On

Many of America’s earliest airfields and airports are now decommissioned or repurposed. Looking at modern satellite imagery, you might never know they existed without a closer examination of a place’s

Tracing U.S. Horse Racing History in Historic Aerial Imagery

Once you learn the shape, you can’t unsee it. A clean oval ghosting beneath cul-de-sacs, stitched into golf fairways, hiding behind warehouse rows. From above, the outline snaps into focus