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WardMaps LLC
Rating Details »
Categories: Arts & Crafts, Antiques
Neighborhood: Harvard Square12 Bow St
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 497-0737
- Nearest Transit:
-
Harvard (Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Tue. 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wed-Thu. 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
7 reviews for WardMaps LLC
I love maps. I am a map nerd.
I'm redecorating my room these days... (here's the part where any mooches out there steal my ideas)... and I've decided that since I've moved around so much and lived in a lot of great places throughout my life, it would be fun to get maps of each spot and put them in some nice frames and decorate my space in a meaningful, classy way. Vintage maps!
So I headed to WardMaps. I'd seen these guys at street fairs, but you gotta check out the whole store. Maps galore! I'm not so much into the more gimicky printing options (coasters, mugs, t-shirts, bags) but they make great gift ideas, so keep them in mind for that. However, I'm super into all of their antique original prints and cheaper reprints! The tiny space is chock full of history.
I went in feeling perhaps too ambitious, wanting 4 maps, of 4 places close to my heart. My shopping list:
1) Somerville. Specifically, the part I live in (Davis/Porter). This sounds easy, but it's actually very hard to find one from the 19th century (most of the maps are from around 1900 or so) that have my neighborhood on it. In that regard, you Union Square kids have it way easier. But in the end, after some serious digging, I found a great map of the 'hood, from way before it was much of a 'hood at all.
2) Westport, MA: My family's hometown, and my current home away from home. I was thrilled to find a gorgeous 1895 map (coincidentally, the year my family's house was built) that not only includes roads and waterways, but also the names of all the original property owners, which is super fun. My mom is gonna go nuts over this!
(Bonus: The owner, Brian, assured me that they have at least one map of every town in Massachusetts.)
3) Philadelphia, PA: My actual hometown. I wanted one of the whole city, but instead could only find ones of specific neighborhoods. I'll hold off buying this one, but it's cool. It's a big city. ;-)
4) Eugene, OR: If you're not confused yet, this is also kind of my hometown, at least in a sentimental soul-connection kind of sense. Anyhoo, no luck here-- not a thing from Eugene to be found. Sad face.
Overall I was incredibly impressed by the vast selection of maps and styles (bird's eye views, street views, ones that focus on properties, ones that focus on streets, others that focus on landscapes), and how helpful Brian was. The poor guy spent about an hour helping me out on my very ambitious mission, and was willing to go above and beyond to make me happy. For example, things he didn't have available in the store, he could have printed for me (in 1-3 business days) from their massive database.
So I ended up with 2 amazing prints, which were on sale, so I got a Medium size of one and an "Intermediate" size (larger than medium, smaller, than Large) of another, all for like $90. The real deal authentic big guys usually run around $300. They also offer framing services, and Brian even offered to make me a custom matte for my prints for only like $10 extra, even though I'm too cheap to buy a frame from him. I think that's super sweet.
So if you're a map nerd like me, need a quirky and unique gift idea, or are just redecorating, come check this spot out!
People thought this was:
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Great shop, great inventory (Ever want a nineteenth century map of your neighborhood on a drinks tray? They can do it.), great staff. Instant positive vibe. You create needs as you go through their stock. Drop in the next time you're in Harvard Square.
Walk just past Grafton Street to find this awesome vintage map/Boston journal/coaster/shirt shop. Two brothers decided to set-up shop after successfully selling their products in booths at events all around the city! Ward Maps ( http://www.wardmaps.com) has vintage maps of Boston from way back when and down to the smallest details like what families owned each buildings! Then Brian, the other brother runs Boston Coasters (http://www.bostoncoast...) that puts awesome pictures of Boston on messenger bags, journals, coasters, shirts, journals, you name it! They even do custom orders of images you want, or they can take an image you already liked on a journal and make it into coasters etc.
Its a great place to get a gift for someone who is INTO Boston because none of the stuff here feels like "tourist crap". I just picked up 3 great journals with images on the cover for my interns as gifts. One with a vintage map of the Back Bay, one with some old t-passes and one with the a old painting of the Charles Bridge. Its cool because they have grittier images like t-stops etc. and from all different neighborhoods across Boston. And for those who love other cities, they have a small selection of other locals like Rhode Island, San Francisco, etc.
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I am a lover of old maps, historical New England anything, and Boston, so this store was an amazing find. I felt like I was dreaming as I walked in - I mean, they have been here since November 2007 and I didn't know it!! And I live almost right down the street! (in a matter of speaking....right down Mass Ave...)
Antique maps are a given; it's what the store's named after. They not only have maps of New England but old maps from all over the world -I spotted a bunch of European and South American maps in their collection. The original prints are pricy (the ones I was looking at were at least $175) but if you want to buy a reprint, those are actually quite affordable, from $19 up. Their website http://wardmaps.com has a complete listing of their entire collection, but you get a good idea of what they offer when you walk in the store. And they not only sell maps and reprints, but you can get maps on bags, t-shirts, mugs and more...why settle for a 1890 map of Cambridge when you can get a 1890 map of Cambridge on a messenger bag??!? (don't answer that)
That's only half the store. As someone who loves Boston paraphenalia but doesn't want to spend $50 on a giant stuffed lobster or salt water taffy along with all the other tourists, this was almost as good as the map section. Coasters, mousepads, journals, placemats, with awesome Boston graphics like T stop signs, the Fresh Killed Poultry sign from that meat market by Lechmere, street graffiti, etc. I ended up buying four coasters emblazoned with photographs of Davis, Porter, Harvard, and Park Street T stops.
They've got a mailing list sign up by the register if you want to put your email on and get notified if they get in any old maps of areas you're interested in. Their oldest map of New Bedford/South Coast is from 1879, but I'm hoping they'll have some great find sometime soon and I can get me a map of New Bedford from 1841.
An AWESOME local business, and one that I hope sticks around for a long time!
*two thumbs up*
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I had asked on the yelp boards about cool Boston gifts and someone suggested vintage maps, which made me remember this place which I had mentally bookmarked in my many sojourns to Berry Line but as yet had never gone in. Today was the day, and I'm pleased to say this place gets the highest praise I know how to bestow: wicked awesome.
You may not have even realized you had a hankering for vintage maps, but believe me once you've been in this little spot you will. There are maps on:
--prints
--coasters
--mousepads
--bags of various sizes
--tee shirts
--greeting cards
--serving trays
--mugs
--placemats
--postcards
On these same items you can also find some modern artwork and cool photos of modern Boston with T-stops and the like.
The store is very small but I didn't feel like the cashier guy was staring at me to make sure I wasn't stealing something. He was very cool - playing Bjork and letting me browse in peace.
This is a great place for gifties or to get something cool for your apartment.
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So I'm not a huge map lover like some of the other yelpers, but I do like this place. I went looking for a map of Boston I'd seen advertised in Body and Soul magazine from Ork Posters (http://www.orkposters....) and they had it (with a cream background and a green background). The store also carries those coasters featuring T stops from around the city. I'm giving 4 stars because they don't have any coasters featuring stops across the city (my hood, the Dot was missing!). But, to his credit, one of the guys working there told me that he'd take some pictures and make some. I believe him.
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Because this shop's hours are either 12-6 or "on occasion," student teaching, grad school, and Quasar practice have kept me from visiting to check out the maps, prints, coasters, shirts and baby onesies inside. I'd also been avoiding the area to avoid the Berryline temptation--I haven't been running too much lately and want to reach my 25 minutes / 8:30 pace goal so that I can go back for some froyo!
Today's gorgeous weather inspired me to run down to the Esplanade and I happened to pass http://WardMaps.com's storefront on the way down. Intrigued, I decided to make a visit my reward for running for 30 minutes.
36:01 later, I stopped at the Weeks footbridge and scampered up DeWolfe St to 12 Bow St to check out http://WardMaps.com's sweet offerings. I hadn't put any money in my pocket before heading out, but I am definitely heading back to check out the Live Poultry Fresh Killed mug, the journals, and the metal prints. They can put antique maps or Boston-related photos onto metal prints, and the final effect looks really cool. I'm coveting the pictures of T signs the most. The owners are very friendly--Brian gave me some good ideas for making a tiled set of metal prints for a living room wall. The bags, shirts, and onesies are fairly cute--if there were clutches or more vintage-y looking shirts with softer fabric, I'd be coveting them too.
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