Andy Woodruff

andywoodruff.comBoston in 50 Maps - Andy Woodruff, cartographerA book of 50+ original maps of Boston.

23 Mar

Well folks, we are less than two months away from the publication of Boston in 50 Maps, so it's about time for me to start clogging your feeds with promotion. (You can pre-order it now! You've been able to for a while!) First: added a thing about it on my website. andywoodruff.com/posts/2026/b...

Sometimes I grumble about seemingly circuitous approaches to landing in Boston, but no complaints about the sunset tour of the city they gave us yesterday.

First time seeing this phenomenon on approach to Logan at apparently just the right time and place yesterday: a beam of sunlight reflected all the way to Franklin Park from the Hancock. @universalhub.com

One of best maps of our time is @jakesteinberg.com’s Minnesota state fair smell map, and thanks to his #nacis2026 presentation about it, I have learned about DEEP FRIED RANCH DRESSING!

beltpublishing.comThe Twin Cities in 50 MapsBy Jake Steinberg publishing November 17, 2026; preorders open! The newest entry in our 50 Maps series. Explore Minneapolis and St. Paul in a brand new way through a full-color book of maps. New, col...

Folks, this one map alone is worth the price of the Twin Cities in 50 Maps. You get 49 more for free! beltpublishing.com/products/the...

Last week a bunch of my (in-law) family descended upon a playground in a pretty random French town (Pleurtuit) and I guessed the park does not typically receive so many foreign visitors, but clearly some Scots preceded us.

Fun locator map in Montparnasse station, Paris. Turn the whole thing and the map spins to be oriented toward the way you’re facing.

Bonus points because the map in that video is for orientation *inside* the train station, and the other side has a map of the surrounding streets. (It also spins etc.)

My 6 year old hardly understands what baseball is, but she knows this: Yankees suck.

No time for our usual White Mountains camping/hiking weekend this year, but we did pull off the miracle of getting out the door early enough for a day hike at kid speed. Leaves: peeped ✅

*but late enough for the trailhead parking to be far beyond overflowing when we arrived (9:30 or so) Hikes that Instagram ruined 🤝 Hikes that we can accomplish with young children

Maps maps maps! Come to Milwaukee.

NACIS@nacis.bsky.social

Planning to join us in Milwaukee for #nacis2026? Register today to save! 🐤 Rates increase on Thursday, October 8. Register here 🎫 buff.ly/kDOnQ6B

18 Sept

My kid’s school is teaching solid lessons in the Great American Failed Culture of Transportation. Her kindergarten teacher: ✅ Lives about a 12 minute safe and comfortable walk to school ✅ Drives to school

18 Sept

First grade teacher: ✅ Lives in one of the most densely populated parts of Boston, maybe 10 minute walk to the train station ✅ Works at a school practically adjacent to a stop on a commuter rail line from that train station ✅ Drives to school And it’s a totally rational decision for many reasons!

8 Sept

The Equal Earth projection news has spawned a bunch of TikTok explainers and, like... all of them are wrong. Incorrect "true size" comparisons, AI slop maps, etc. Tom Patterson has many beautiful versions of the real deal in the public domain, totally free! But making shit up is easier?

equal-earth.comEqual Earth Wall Map - HomeA wall map in the Equal Earth projection showing countries of the world. The map is free of charge.

8 Sept

name of thing dot com, it's that simple equal-earth.com

7 Sept

An official seal of approval for the @mapcenter.com kids’ section!

1 Sept

On this day we commemorate that time when our Allston Christmas map was a little too real for people.

1 Sept

That map was based on an actual field survey. I took a printed map for a walk with the intention of marking every mattress etc. that I saw on the street. Overwhelmed, the only note I could make on the map was “OMG”

@pinakographos.bsky.social

31 Aug

'tis the season* in Boston! Mind your vehicle height on Storrow Drive/Soldiers Field Road and Memorial Drive. Here's my map of some popular locations to sardine-tin the roof of your truck. (*'tis not the season. There is no season. The whole thing about students being to blame is a myth!)

Andy Woodruff reposted

Daniel Huffman

28 Aug

Replying to @awoodruff.bsky.social

I have often felt a bit out of the loop because I don't celebrate the two major cartographic holidays of Hurricane Season and Electiontide.

28 Aug

Cartographers are secretly delighted when some body of water name bullshit is in the news. That’s the real scandal!

28 Aug

Since we’re in hurricane season, I hope the lake name thing at least sucks some energy from the weird joy that cartos often exude for the creative opportunities that deadly catastrophes provide to them.

20 Aug

You guys I’ve recently returned from my first visit to Portugal and can’t get over the francesinha sandwich. Bunch of meat, draped with melted cheese, drowning in a beer-based sauce… how did the entire state of Wisconsin fail to invent this first?

22 Aug

Also KFC over there has a fried chicken sandwich with Simpsons-esque donuts in place of bread? We don’t even have that in America!

12 Aug

Here’s a bad photo from today of the 8th total solar eclipse that I’ve seen!

18 Aug

Social media shows me lots of people who "saw the eclipse" from a beach in Portugal or whatever, and again I have to be an eclipse snob: you didn't see it! Even a 99% eclipse is garbage compared to a 100% eclipse! Yes, it takes privilege and/or luck to see a total eclipse, but do it if you can!

17 Aug

The Spanish town Sigüenza, where we saw last week’s eclipse, has a lovely pair of tiled maps in its train station. Hard to capture in a photo, but they have a lot of 3D detail. But railway construction meant bus substitution, so we spent more time figuring that out than looking at the maps 😭

16 Aug

Six year old has really got the hang of Mad Libs

Wake up babe, new Great Lake just dropped

Now that you’re awake, I have to tell you that this 1970s children’s book about solar eclipses is quite wrong about the 2024 eclipse path. (“The shadow will go right through New York City.”)

hubhistory.comBoston in 50 Maps, with Andy Woodruff (episode 358) - HUB History: Boston history podcastAndy Woodruff’s new book Boston in 50 Maps goes beyond familiar compilations of public-domain historic maps of Boston, Woodruff’s work offers an engaging, data-driven look at the Hub through 50 origin...

This was a fun one. Pretty sure we could have stretched this into like 3 hours of just being map nerds. Thanks for inviting me, Jake!

Jake @ HUBhistory@hubhistory.com

In this week's episode of HUB History, history meets cartography in my conversation with @awoodruff.bsky.social about his new book Boston in 50 Maps. Listen now! www.hubhistory.com/episodes/bos...

💯 Some of the best mapmakers in the world are regularly at the NACIS conference, and in addition to being eager to share their wisdom, they're all super friendly and want to hang out with you and learn from you too.

The Map Center@mapcenter.com

I've been making maps for a while. I'm okay at it. Never thought I could run with the big dogs at NACIS. Now that I'm a map store owner I get to hang out with these rock stars and realize they're actually so committed to education and mentorship I could have been hanging out with them years ago.

22 July

Okay I was wrong about the flight time so we ended up at a suburban Skyline, but still: meat slop accomplished ✅

Andy Woodruff@awoodruff.bsky.social

This important map will help us plan a lunch stop on the way from CVG up to the Dayton area for a visit back some soon. Own this map and at least 49 others in the book Cincinnati in 50 Maps! www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/cin...

18 July

I’ve been buying these for the kids lately and can’t get past this picture on the box. Why would you open a box of Cheez-Its outdoors on the moon? There’s no way to eat them!! Very wasteful.

17 July

17 July

You guys also I am so close to finishing my hand-crafted Cincy chili t-shirt, you’re going to be so jealous of the 5-way I’ll be sporting

15 July

Oh no, we’re doing the daylight saving time thing again? Have you people learned nothing from me? There is no universal solution but to overthrow the clock and live by the sun.

observablehq.comDaylight Saving Time Gripe Assistant ToolA handy tool to help make your case when whining about a biannual time change, following earlier explorations of the geography of DST effects. Tip: rotate to landscape mode if you're looking at this o...

15 July

maps maps maps andywoodruff.com/blog/where-t... and observablehq.com/@awoodruff/d...

9 July

Big news from Maine: it is the only state to share a border with exactly one other state, and it is the only one-syllable state name! Unclear at this time how either of those will affect the 2026 midterm elections.

wbur.orgBoston-area soccer bars are winning this World Cup — and hope to keep the streak goingBusiness is booming at soccer bars in Greater Boston — thanks to the World Cup. Sales are up, fans have come out in droves and local businesses are trying to make the most of the tournament.

6 July

Can’t believe we made it so deep into the tournament before a photo of Garvey appeared in my feeds

WBUR@wbur.org

Business is booming at soccer bars in Greater Boston — thanks to the World Cup. Sales are up, fans have come out in droves and local businesses are trying to make the most of the tournament.

7 July

See now I bet everyone at Parlor Sports is sad despite my many warnings over the years to stop caring about this sport and just let me get a seat at the bar for a Sunday brunch burger.

1 July

This map is done enough to make prints available. If anyone you know spends time around the White Mountains, Lake Winnipesaukee, or in between, I'll be grateful for you passing the word along! 🙏 (No vacation house in the area is complete without this map!) andysmaps.bigcartel.com/product/moun...

andywoodruff.comMountains and Lakes - Andy Woodruff, cartographerA new detailed map of the White Mountains and New Hampshire lakes region

1 July

As I've posted here before, the idea is just a nice map with a ton of labels. There's not much of a story, but even so, here's a bit more info and images. andywoodruff.com/posts/2026/m...

1 July

It’s cool how they’re bringing tyranny back for a 250th anniversary tour 🤘

@brentincolumbus.bsky.social

24 June

😤 Simply drawing a line on an existing map 🤩 Entire weird AI map with your line on it cc @transitmap.net

Nik DeCosta-Klipa@nikdecostaklipa.bsky.social

many people pointing out it would take billions of dollars to dig a fully new, five-mile Orange Line tunnel — but what about the costs of realigning the Green Line's E branch, connecting the Mattapan trolley to South Station and relocating Aquarium to a new Harbor Island?

Andy Woodruff reposted

Brent Warren

19 June

A books of maps about a city he loves is an S-tier Father’s Day gift (as I am pretty sure my kids would say). Available at your local bookstore!

arcadiapublishing.comColumbus in 50 MapsThis full-color book of maps, one of Belt Publishing’s 50 Maps Series, presents the capital and biggest city in Ohio like you’ve never seen it before. Columbus is a place perpetually in search of an i...

Andy Woodruff@awoodruff.bsky.social

⚠️ Father’s Day self-promo warning: Just signed a second shipment of Boston in 50 Maps at my local bookshop, after the first sold out in 10 days! I have it on good authority (the store owner) that as a Father’s Day gift it is NOT boring. www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/bos...

16 June