Riley Champine

@rileydchampine.com

761 Followers 1023 Following

Cartographer at the University of Richmond Digital Scholarship Lab • Former Graphics Editor at Nat Geo — 🗺️ Map Nerd • 🚲 Bike Commuter • 🚎 Transit Advocate • 🇺🇸 USMNT / 🦘 Richmond Kickers / Fulham FC ⚽️ fan

A screenshot of a Sanborn map from 1905, focusing two buildings that were sculptor's studios. Each building has an annotation indicating that they had skylights.
A view of downtown Richmond VA behind a laptop screen showing Sanborn maps.
A video showing the James River flooding over Riverside Drive at sunset.
Map and table showing 4 projects selected for the Richmond Combined Sewer Overflow plan. The plan aims to reduce untreated wastewater overflow by 785 million gallons per year.
A map of the James River in Richmond showing that 12 of the 25 Combined Sewer Overflow outfall sites are overflowing on Feb 16, 2025.
A Star Trek Geordi meme stating that an unprotected bike lane shown in the latest Mayo Bridge design is not it — the bike lane needs a proper barrier.
Latoya Gray-Sparks presenting maps and images of north Jackson Ward before its destruction to make way for public housing in the 1940s.
Cascading ice frozen in 8-12 foot tall icicles on a sheet rock face.
An animation shows a Sanborn map from 1949 transitioning to a current satellite image of the same area. This pair of images documents how dozens of residences around Carstens Elementary School have been removed. The blocks adjacent to the school are now dominated by vacant grass lots with only a few houses remaining.
A grey tabby cat sitting in a beam of sunlight on a wooden floor.
Screenshot of Sanborn maps of showing hundreds of brick row houses on the gridded streets of West Baltimore.
Animation begins with a 1952 Sanborn map showing a large public school building and many row houses. It transitions to a current satellite image of the same location. An expressway has replaced the public school and most of the row houses have been removed.
Video of a bike lane separated from car traffic with plastic posts that have been decorated with red ribbon to look like candy canes.
Screenshot of a map showing how Cave St extended from Duvall St in the west to Shockoe Creek in the east, following an embankment or perhaps a ravine.
Animation beginning with a 1952 Sanborn map mosaic that shows hundreds of small buildings on gridded streets and an unusual diagonal alley called "Cave". The image fades into a modern satellite image of the same location which is dominated by a motorway that carries I-95 and I-64. Almost none of the 1952 buildings shown in the first image remain.
Fictional screenshot of a Google Maps search result for "Shockoe County" which shows an image of the James River and the 9th Street Bridge and a fictitious map of a county formed by the dissolved boundaries of Chesterfield, Henrico, and Richmond. The image contains the following important text: "Shockoe County is a county in Central Virginia home to the Commonwealth’s capital, Richmond. The county is bounded by the Chickahominy River to the north and the Appomattox River to the south. Its name is derived from the native Powhatan word for stone, shacahocan, which was used to describe a creek and prominent rock landing at the Falls of the James. According to the American Community Survey of 2023, the county’s total population is 947,883, making it the second most populous in Virginia and ranking 57th among all counties in the United States. Sources: VGIN, Shockoe Examiner, U.S. Census Bureau. Photo: @jamellebouie.net. Fictional map illustration: @rileydchampine.com"
Animation of a Sanborn map mosaic showing many brick buildings filled with markets, stores, and restaurants. The image dissolves into a satellite image of the same location, which has fewer buildings. The most prominent newer features are three tall residential towers, a large plaza, and a submerged motorway.
Closeup of a Sanborn map showing a restaurant and two dwellings on Pierre Ave in Shreveport, LA.
Animation of a 1963 Sanborn map mosaic showing many houses and business fading into a current-day satellite image of the same location, which is now dominated by the maze-like interchange of two interstate highways.
This image shows a piece of paper attached to a broadcast television camera. The page has extensive information about the 2024 NWSL finalists, the Washington Spirt and the Orlando Pride, including photos of their star players, and what the camera operator should do during specific moments in the match.
Mosaic of Sanborn maps showing several buildings and a stadium that resembles a horseshoe built into a steep slope.
Mosaic of Sanborn maps showing many interconnected buildings sprawling across a wide open campus.
Mosaic of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from the Northside of Richmond, Virginia showing several streets, buildings, and railroad spurs.
A satellite image with three highlighted city blocks along Semmes Ave and W 11th St in the Manchester area of Richmond, VA
A table with an assortment of map-themed cakes.