I’ve been pretty active on Google Mapmaker for a while, where users can add, edit and approve changes to Google Maps. I’ve made sure the streets and parking lots on the campus of Stevens Institute are correct. I’ve made sure that the roads and parking lots in our Hoboken supermarkets, senior housing and HUD housing are accurate. Quite a bit of this “making sure” involved adding the roads and parking lots to the maps – they weren’t always there.

Recently, the Hoboken Historical Museum, of which Lisa and I are proud members, mounted a map exhibit. After taking in the show, I had a nice conversation with the Museum’s Bob Foster. The result? A map of Hoboken’s named street signs, monuments and statues.

Of course, Google Maps allows anyone to make custom maps, like the one I made of a path I saw a raccoon walk in City Line, Brookyn a few years ago. However, I wanted the street signs to be find-able by any Google Maps user, so I used Mapmaker to add/make sure each of these items was included. So, if you go to Google Maps and search on “Biggie’s Way” in Hoboken you’ll get a hit.

So, here’s my custom map. Bob and I first discussed the street signs. Then I went ahead and added the statues and monuments, since I had already added them to Google Maps. My little icons are serviceable, and were fun to make. I also took snapshots of each place (well, maybe not all of them). If you click on the icon you should see the snapshot in the pop-up. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

View City of Hoboken Street Signs, Monuments, Statues in a larger map