Site of the Week: Guide to Springfield USA

Welcome to my first site of the week. As I eluded to, this first site of the week is Simpsons-related, and I hope you enjoy!

Site of the week: Guide to Springfield USA
Site URL: http://mapofspringfield.com/

Visit this website if...: As noted above, this website is Simpsons-related, so if you happen to be a fan of TV's favourite animated family, then this website is a must see!

Also, if you've ever been curious as to where certain places in Springfield are in relation to others (for example, if you've ever wondered where Greasy Joe's Bottomless BBQ Pit is, or where the Escalator to Nowhere is in relation to the Simpsons residence), then this is the closest you'll ever get to knowing.

Synopsis: As the URL suggests, this website contains probably the most comprehensive map of Springfield ever made.

The two cartographers, Jerry Lerma and Terry Hogan, spent around 3 years of episode watching and trawling the web to ensure that the accuracy of the map was as close as it would get. Infact, this is part of their introduction on the home page of the site:

"Although we'd like our map to be as accurate as a map to any imaginary place can be, our main intent is to preserve the comic spirit of Springfield, document its unique identity, and to have some fun at the same time"

Their work paid off handsomely, as their map of Springfield has been added to the Harvard Map Collection, which is one of the oldest map collections in the world.

When you click on the link to access the map, you're given two options:

1. View the map in sections; or
2. Download/view the entire map as a massive image.

Either way is fine. I personally prefer the second option, as it allows you to view the entire map at once, so you can scroll from side to side, up and down, without the need for clicking the links to see other sections of the map.

Now, in addition to their fine mapping skills, this website also contains a comprehensive list of places in Springfield and in some of the featured other towns (Shelbyville, Capitol City, etc) that also appear in the Simpsons episodes on a regular basis.

Feel free to leave any comments on this site of the week, or suggestions for next week's site of the week.

Until then, adios!