Plate
177
Prepared after the manner of the fire insurance atlases, corrected to July 1926 conventions

Bilbo Baggins

Insurance Map of a Career · Urban Historian · Baltimore, Md.
b.baggins@example.com· (555) 014-2287· bilbobaggins.example.com· Baltimore, Maryland
Surveyor's Note

I research how American cities record and forget their own buildings, mostly through insurance atlases, deed books, and demolition permits. Over 14 years I have surveyed roughly 2,300 Baltimore rowhouse lots and traced their paper trails back to the 1870s. I still read microfilm faster than most people read PDFs.

Employment Ave.
LOT 1 · 2019–PRESENT

Senior Historian, Survey Division

Chesapeake Rowhouse Trust · Baltimore, Md.
  • Direct block-by-block documentation of 6 East Baltimore neighborhoods, covering 1,140 structures, for local landmark nominations.
  • Wrote 4 successful National Register district nominations; the largest covers 312 contributing buildings.
  • Manage a survey team of 3 historians and a $210K annual field budget, with 0 missed grant deadlines since 2020.
LOT 2 · 2014–2019

Research Historian

Patapsco Atlas Project · Baltimore, Md.
  • Georeferenced 96 insurance atlas plates spanning 1880–1953 into a public GIS layer used by 3 city agencies.
  • Built the demolition-permit index (18,400 records) that cut average lot-history lookups from 2 days to 20 minutes.
LOT 3 · 2015–2021

Adjunct Lecturer, Urban History

Harborline College · Baltimore, Md.
  • Taught "Reading the American Block" to 40–55 students per year across 11 semesters.
  • Ran an annual field seminar that produced 7 student-authored walking tours, 5 still in print.
Archive St.
LOT 4 · 2012–2014

Contract Surveyor, Historic Districts

Fells & Wren Preservation Consultants
  • Completed condition surveys of 480 properties across 2 CHAP districts on 9-month contracts.
LOT 5 · 2010–2012

Map Room Assistant

Calvert Free Library, Maryland Room
  • Catalogued 2,700 flat-file maps and rehoused the full 1890–1914 atlas run in archival folders.
  • Answered about 600 lot-history reference requests a year from homeowners and title searchers.
Education Row
LOT 6 · 2008–2010

M.A., Historic Preservation

Severn University · Annapolis, Md.
  • Thesis: fire insurance mapping as a demolition record in 3 mid-Atlantic port cities.
LOT 7 · 2004–2008

B.A., History

Chesford College · Lancaster, Pa.
  • Minor in cartography; senior prize for a paper on 19th-century street renaming.

Legend · Key to Career Colors

Brick: full-time staff position
Frame: contract or adjunct work
Stone: education, fireproof

Special Hazards (Skills)

  • Insurance atlas and plat interpretation
  • QGIS and ArcGIS Pro georeferencing
  • Deed, permit, and tax record chains
  • National Register nomination writing
  • Large-format map handling and rehousing
  • Public walking tours and talks (60+ given)

Selected Publications

  • "Pink Blocks, Yellow Blocks: Color as Risk in Baltimore Atlases," Mid-Atlantic Urban Review, 2023.
  • "The Permit Trail: Reconstructing 40 Lost Rowhouse Blocks," Chesapeake History Quarterly, 2020.
  • Co-author, "Field Guide to the East Baltimore Survey," Chesapeake Rowhouse Trust, 2021, 3rd printing.