Old Map of Miami, Florida by USGS, 1962 – Miami Beach, Coral Gables & Biscayne Bay

Published in 1970 from survey data gathered in 1962, the US Geological Survey’s “Miami” presents South Florida at a pivotal moment between resort glamour, postwar suburban expansion, and modern metropolitan growth. At the precise 1:24,000 scale favored by American planners, engineers, and geographers, the map captures Miami and Miami Beach not as abstractions, but as a dense fabric of streets, waterways, parks, airports, neighborhoods, and causeways. Biscayne Bay forms the luminous heart of the composition, separating the mainland city from the barrier-island elegance of Miami Beach. Around it, the Miami River, Government Cut, Virginia Key, Key Biscayne, and the Atlantic shoreline define a city inseparable from water, commerce, leisure, and coastal engineering.

The map was produced by the US Geological Survey, the federal scientific agency whose topographic quadrangles became among the most trusted portraits of the American landscape. Founded in 1879, the USGS brought a rigorous, standardized visual language to the mapping of terrain, settlement, infrastructure, and natural resources. Here, that precision is applied to one of the most dynamic urban environments in the United States. Rather than dramatic mountain relief, the map’s topographic interest lies in subtle elevation, drainage, shoreline modification, canals, and the intimate relationship between low-lying land and tidal water. Its contours are restrained, but its urban detail is richly informative, revealing how Miami’s growth was negotiated across mangrove-fringed coasts, reclaimed land, and expanding transportation corridors.

Cartographically, the sheet is especially striking for the clarity of its mid-century USGS design. Blue waterways, canals, and bay waters contrast crisply with the pink shading that marks built-up residential and urbanized areas, making the pattern of settlement immediately legible. The grid of streets and avenues spreads across Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Little Havana, and Miami Beach, while bolder symbols identify major roads, railways, institutional grounds, parks, and commercial zones. U.S. Highway 1, the Federal Highway, threads through the urban landscape as a principal north-south artery. Miami International Airport appears as a major infrastructural landmark, reflecting the city’s growing importance as a gateway to the Caribbean, Latin America, and the wider world.

This is Miami before the full intensity of late-twentieth-century redevelopment transformed much of its shoreline and skyline. Little Havana marks the mainland’s evolving cultural geography, while Coral Gables and Coconut Grove evoke earlier visions of planned elegance, tropical landscaping, and Mediterranean Revival urbanism. Vizcaya Park recalls the Gilded Age estate culture that once lined Biscayne Bay, while Marine Stadium and Virginia Key point toward the city’s mid-century embrace of spectacle, boating, and public recreation. Across the bay, Miami Beach appears with its long oceanfront avenues, hotel districts, and carefully gridded residential streets, already a celebrated resort landscape yet still legible as a barrier island shaped by causeways, canals, and coastal exposure.

As a historical document, the map records a city in motion. The surrounding communities of Ojus, Key Biscayne, and the suburban neighborhoods beyond downtown show the widening reach of metropolitan Miami during the 1960s, a period when population growth, highway construction, air travel, tourism, and migration were reshaping South Florida. Water bodies and canals are not merely scenic features here; they are the framework within which development occurred, revealing the engineered nature of the modern city. Parks and green spaces punctuate the urban field, while transportation routes knit together beach, bay, airport, and inland suburbs. The result is a finely observed portrait of Miami at the threshold of its contemporary identity.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Miami
• Miami Beach
• Little Havana
• Coral Gables
• Coconut Grove
• Key Biscayne
• Ojus
• Virginia Key
• Vizcaya Park
• Government Cut
• Marine Stadium
• Biscayne Bay
• Miami River
• Florida International University
• Miami International Airport
• U.S. Highway 1 / Federal Highway
• Parks and green spaces
• Residential neighborhoods
• Water bodies and canals
• Transportation routes and railways
• Commercial areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map produced by the US Geological Survey.
• Based on survey data from 1962 and published with a 1970 imprint.
• Shows South Florida during a period of growth, suburban expansion, and increasing urban development.
• Includes key transportation routes, landmarks, waterways, and geographic features.
• Features a clear, legible grid design with bold color use to distinguish land uses.
• Pink shading indicates built-up or residential regions, while blue depicts water bodies.
• Includes elevation contours, though the map primarily emphasizes urban development and land use rather than rugged terrain.
• Reflects the coastal character of Miami, with significant waterways, canals, and low-lying urban areas.
• Produced by the USGS, a U.S. government scientific agency known for mapping, land-use, resource, and environmental data.

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.

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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.