I recently found my old Rand McNally Atlas from 1996. I thought it would be cool to see what changes have been made to the atlas over the years with the 2019. (I can't find the 2024 edition for some reason.) I am only doing changes to the US maps.
First, the layout and color schemes...
1996:
1. State borders had different colors depending on the state map. They were green, purple, brown and pink.
2. Cities and areas that had insets on different pages had a small white box that would say where in the atlas the map could be found. However, there was not a thin box showing the area that had the inset.
3. Exit numbers were shown as a black arrow-like flag with the number.
4. There was scale and legend on just about each map page in the margin.
5. National Parks and National Monuments are outlined in green. Wildlife areas were outlined in pink.
6. Interstate business route shields are in blue.
7. County lines were green solid lines and labeled in green.
8. Golf courses were reddish-pink flags.
2019:
1. State borders are all tan.
2. The main map shows a box around the area that has an inset with the page number attached.
3. Exit numbers are now a green box.
4. A small chart of 4 interstates per state with the mileage of the highway within the state on each map. The scale is still on each page in a small box but the legend is now on the inside cover.
5. National Parks and National Monuments are shaded in green. Wildlife areas are outlined in green.
6. Interstate business route shields are in green.
7. County lines are marked as orange dashed lines with the names in orange.
8. Golf courses are green flags.
Things that are still roughly the same:
1.The interstate shields and US highway shields are about the same style. Slight change on the number font that is now more like a highway gothic style.
The type font for the cities and street names are about the same.
2. Military Bases and Indian Reservations are still an outlined but went from pink to orange except on the city insets. Those are shaded in gray.
3. Tollways, Freeways and Divided Highways are still green, blue and orange.
4. Buildings and points of interest are red squares.
City/Area Insets changes:
Added places appear as bold.
Italic places have an expanded/shrunk map size or coverage area.
Florence AL
Huntsville AL (includes more of Madison)
Anchorage AK (includes more of the south area)
Juneau AK (includes the city of Douglas
Denali National Park
Flagstaff AZ (includes a bit bigger area)
Pheonix AZ (became metro map, nothing south of Chandler but now includes Apache Jct and Buckeye)
Tucson AZ (includes more overall area in all directions)
Tucson AZ - Downtown (Central)
Bullhead City AZ / Laughlin NV
Lake Havasu City AZ
Sierra Vista AZ
Prescott AZ
Grand Canyon National Park - Central map
Petrified Forest National Park
Jonesboro AR
Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers AR
Texarkana AR/TX
Little Rock AR (includes Jacksonville and Maumelle)
Bakersfield CA (slightly bigger area)
Fresno CA (includes more of Clovis area)
Lancaster / Palmdale CA
Modesto CA
Monterey CA (includes Salinas and Prunedale)
Oceanside CA
Oxnard / Ventura CA
Palm Springs CA (map shifted southeast to include Palm Desert)
Sacramento CA - Downtown (Central)
Sacramento CA (includes Folsom and Florin areas)
San Diego CA (became metro map, includes Carlsbad and more of El Cajon)
San Diego CA - Downtown (Central) (expanded a bit north)
Santa Rosa CA
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (expanded north)
Joshua Tree National Park
Yosemite National Park - Central map
Boulder CO
Colorado Springs CO (includes more of south)
Denver CO (became metro map, includes Castle Rock, Brighton, Denver Airport and more of Aurora)
Denver CO - Downtown (Central)
Ft Collins CO
Greeley CO
Pueblo CO
Mesa Verde National Park
Bridgeport & New Haven CT (combined into one map)
Stamford / Greenwich CT
Wilmington DE (includes Newark and moved a bit south)
Jacksonville FL (includes a bit more outside of I-295)
Key West FL
Lakeland / Winter Haven FL (combined into one map)
Melbourne FL (expanded to include Titusville and Cape Canaveral into one map as well as more of Palm Bay)
Miami FL - Downtown (Central) (expanded a bit bigger area)
Orlando FL (includes Sanford and Citrus Ridge)
Pensacola FL (includes a bit more of east area)
Tampa / St Petersburg /Sarasota FL (combined into one map)
Albany GA
Brunswick GA
Boise ID (includes Meridian)
Coue d'Alene / Post Falls ID
Chicago IL - Downtown (Central) (map expanded a bit north and south)
Indianapolis IN - Downtown (Central)
Iowa City IA
Sioux City IA
Hutchinson KS
Salina KS
Wichita KS (includes more of west area)
Ashland KY (added to Huntington WV inset)
Covington KY (includes area by CVG Airport)
Frankfort KY (includes all of I-64 in area)
Louisville KY (includes all of I-265 on the east area)
Paducah KY
Baltimore MD (includes High Ridge and Columbia areas)
Baltimore MD - Downtown (Central) (expanded a bit south)
Cumberland MD
Salisbury MD
Washington DC (inset deleted on MD page. got its own page)
Boston MA (includes areas out to I-495 in west)
Boston MA - Downtown (Central) (includes more of Cambridge and southwest area)
Lowell MA
New Bedford MA (shrunk on west area)
Detroit MI (shrunk west area cutting off Ann Arbor)
Detroit MI - Downtown (Central) (expanded east a bit)
Grand Rapids MI (includes MI 6 area)
Kalamazoo MI (includes more of Portage)
Lansing MI (expanded east to I-69 Exit 98)
Muskegon MI
St Cloud MN
Hattiesburg MS
Meridian MS
Vicksburg MS
Branson MO (shrunk in size east and west)
Springfield MO (includes a bit more of south area)
Kearney NE
North Platte NE
Omaha NE (includes more of Bellevue and west area)
Scottsbluff NE
Las Vegas NV (includes 215 Loop and Henderson)
Rochester NH (map deleted)
Portsmouth NH (map deleted)
Cape May NJ
Jersey Shore NJ
New Brunswick NJ
Trenton NJ (includes Princeton area)
Vineland NJ (includes Bridgeton)
Santa Fe NM (expanded a bit west)
Buffalo NY (shrunk NY 78 area out)
Elmire NY (shrunk west area)
Ithaca NY
Long Island NY - Central
New York NY (includes Plainfield NJ and more of Long Island)
New York NY - Manhattan (expanded south to Battery Park)
Watertown NY
White Plains NY
Cape Hatteras NC (deleted)
Charlotte NC (became metro map, includes all of I-485)
Gastonia NC
Greensboro / Winston-Salem NC (combined into one map and expanded to include Thomasville)
Wilmington NC
Bismarck ND (includes more of Mandan)
Fargo ND (includes more of West Fargo)
Minot ND
Cincinnati OH - Downtown (Central)
Cleveland OH (became metro map)
Cleveland OH - Downtown (Central)
Edmond OK
Muskogee OK
Oklahoma City OK (became metro map, expanded east and west)
Eugene OR (incudes more of Springfield)
Portland OR (became metro map)
Portland OR - Downtown (Central)
Harrisburg PA (includes Hershey)
State College PA
Columbia SC (bit bigger area around)
Hilton Head Island SC
Myrtle Beach SC
Memphis TN (became metro map, includes Southaven MS and expanded a bit east)
Nashville TN (includes Brentwood and a bit of Hendersonville)
Abilene TX
Austin TX (includes Round Rock and a bit south)
Beaumont TX (includes Port Arthur)
Bryan / College Station TX
Corpus Christi TX (shrunk south area)
Dallas / Ft Worth TX (became metro map, includes McKinney, Denton, Burleson and Parker Co Line)
Ft Worth TX - Downtown (Central)
Houston TX (became metro map, expanded to include Texas City, Bayfront, I-10 Exit 745 and Intercontinental Airport)
Killeen TX
Laredo TX (moved map a bit north and west)
McAllen TX (includes Reynosa and Weslaco)
Odessa TX (includes Midland)
San Antonio TX - Downtown (Central)
Tyler TX
Logan UT
Ogden UT (includes Kaysville)
Provo UT (includes Springville)
Salt Lake City UT (became metro area)
Salt Lake City UT - Downtown (Central)
St George UT
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Alexandria VA (deleted)
Harrisonburg VA
Lynchburg VA
Bellingham WA
Olympia WA (includes more of Lacey)
Richland / Kennewick / Pasco WA
Seattle / Tacoma WA (became metro map, shrunk north to Bothell)
Huntington WV (includes Ashland KY)
Morgantown WV
Parkersburg WV
Eau Claire WI
Janesville / Beloit WI
Kenosha / Racine WI (combined into one map)
La Crosse WI
Madison WI (includes Waunakee)
Milwaukee WI (became metro map, expanded south to Oak Creek and north to Germantown)
Sheboygan WI
Casper WY (shrunk north)
Laramie WY
Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks (maps split into two)
Total of 89 new insets added.
I remember seeing various atlases from the 1960s and 1970s, and here's a list of things I can remember from those editions:
- Thin red lines going through city limit outlines if there was an inset for that city
- Names of major cities being all-caps
- Exit numbers shown only on toll roads, and in sequential order instead of the mile-based ones that most have today
- Exit listings for toll roads
- Yellow Interstate shields with black crown and text
- Green lines for freeways, gold for toll roads, and red for divided highways
- Proposed limited-access highways shown in broken white lines
- Colleges and universities denoted by graduation cap
- Washington, DC being the only major city with a central inset
- Full map of the Interstate Highway system, with all completed, under construction and proposed routes shown
Quote from: Henry on August 01, 2025, 11:28:49 PM- Green lines for freeways, gold for toll roads, and red for divided highways
And black for lesser roads. That's my only beef with all electronic maps: they use extremely low contrast lines for lesser roads, often medium gray against a light gray background. Try to see that on a smart phone at night when the backlight is dimmed.
Quote from: hobsini2 on August 01, 2025, 06:45:26 PMNational Parks and National Monuments are outlined in green. Wildlife areas were outlined in pink.
I miss that. I understand the decision to change away from it, but my personal taste is that the current shading is too dark. I'd prefer the old-style outlining or at least much lighter shading than what they have now.