1955 Map of Manhattan

About this map

The Big Blue River and Kansas River converge here, framing the mid-century development of Manhattan. This 1955 survey, updated with late-1970s aerial data, highlights the academic heart of the city at Kansas State University, including Memorial Stadium and the adjacent College Hill School. The landscape transitions from the dense urban grid between Anderson Avenue and Poyntz Avenue to the fertile agricultural stretches of Ashland Bottoms and Moehlman Bottoms to the south. Notable civic infrastructure of the era is well-documented, from the Riley County Hospital to the Courthouse and Post Office. Topographic features like Stagg Hill, Rock Hill, and Bluemont Hill provide natural boundaries to the growing city, while the Union Pacific and Chicago Rock Island and Pacific railroads illustrate the vital transportation corridors that shaped the local economy before the expansion of the modern interstate system.