The Los Angeles Public Library owns the Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlases in the Library of Congress on Microfilm. The History Department has the entire state of California in this set which represents a time frame from 1888 to 1950. The 72 reels are cataloged under the number NR 912.794 S198 and are shelved in the microfilm drawers at the far end of the reading room. A guide to Sanborns is available at the Reference Desk which should be used to find which reel contains the atlases appropriate to the site desired.

There is now a second set of Sanborns available under the number NR 912.794 S198-1 covering Los Angeles city only and covering years from the fifties, sixties and a few up to 1970. This set does not cover outlying cities such as Santa Monica or Pasadena or City of Industry etc. These black, plastic boxes are shelved after the early Sanborns in the microfilm drawers at the far end of the reading room.

Sanborns in L.A. How to Find Them

There are 40 volumes covering Los Angeles proper so first the patron must determine the volume covering the requested site or area.

1. Check the large Sanborn Master Address Index at the desk for the volume number and sheet number for the needed site. If you need an area or neighborhood or are unsure of the address you can use the Thomas Guide index to Sanborns at the desk for the correct volume.
2. Check in the Sanborn guide at the desk under the tabbed pages "Los Angeles" for the appropriate reel containing the volume needed after you have found the volume in step one: for example volume 8 for 1950 would be on reel 29. There are also two copies ofthis guide on top of the microfishe cabinets behind the electronic island in the History reading room.

The Library of Congress set of Sanborns of Los Angeles cover four basic time periods.

1. 1888 original covering a small portion of downtown.
2. 1894 slightly expanded downtown area
3. 1906 to 1930 as the area grew and the Sanborn coverage expanded. These volumes exist in their original form. The date of first issue is listed right after the volume number: for example vol. 7 1907. This time frame extends from 1907 to 1930 when the last volumes were completed. This set begins at the end of reel 20 and continues to reel 27.
4. 1950. As changes were made in the covered areas the changes were reflected by pastings which were applied by Sanborn representatives. The final set of the Library of Congress are the corrected atlases as they looked in 1950. Most architects and urban planners need to look at this set which begins at reel 28 and continues to reel 34.
   
   Disclaimer: Many areas of Los Angeles were not covered by Sanborn and regions of the city in the west San Fernando valley are almost totally ignored. If addresses are not found in the Sanborn Address index and are not found in the Thomas Guide index you will not find them in this library. In some rare cases atlases can be found at California State University at Northridge where the best hard-copy collection of the atlases can be found.

3. Many outlying cities are covered by their own Sanborn atlases and are listed in the Sanborn Guide under Cities in L.A. County. Some San Fernando Valley cities are covered such as North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Reseda, etc. Street indexes precede the cities on the reels. The appropriate reels for any city can be found in the Sanborn guide under "Checklist of California cities." The city name on the microfilm and year of issue appears in an oval in the upper right hand corner of the sheets.
4. When in doubt call the map librarian (213) 228-7414