The Big Apple. The heart of living the American Dream. Empire City. New York remains one of those pulsating, enigmatic cities with countless nicknames and sobriquets; a city that continues to capture the imagination of the rest of the world.

For cartography nuts constantly looking to discover the makings of the world's greatest cities, things just got better. In July, The Brooklyn Historical Society launched a map portal on their website to offer access to nearly 1,500 digitised maps. These archival treasures chronicle over 450 years of the city, outlining how it developed over the centuries.