MBTA Subway "Spider" Maps Over Time

December 1st, 2009
mbta, transport
Extracted from the wayback machine: the series of diagrams the T has used to represent itself online.
Start Image
1997-06-03
1999-10-12
2001-06-07
2002-09-18
2004-11-16
2004-12-17
2005-10-28
2009-12-01
The dates are the first date it shows up on archive.org, but likely not the first date it was actually put up. It is likely that the image I have there for 1997-06-03 was actually put up in 1995, as that's the first copyright date the mbta has on their page and they made no changes between 1997-06-03 and late 1999.

In late december 2006, the T redesigned their website in a way that made the wayback machine stop archiving the subway map. They put in a fancy dynamic subway map with the old one still there under "noscript" tags, but apparently the archiving bot didn't follow the old link. Sadness.

Comment via: facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Ozy at LessOnline!

I will once again be a guest at LessOnline, alongside many other writers whom you no doubt like less than you like me: Scott Alexander, dynomight, Georgia Ray, David Friedman, Nicholas Decker, Jacob Falkovich, Kelsey Piper, Alicorn, Aella, etc.

via Thing of Things March 23, 2026

Daycares and the Brown School

As someone in Somerville I notice that there are quite high prices regarding childcare. The average family in Somerville pays $1,100 to $3,500 for daycare per month, and I want to make the costs more affordable. I have also noticed that housing is quite …

via Lily Wise's Blog Posts March 22, 2026

2025-26 New Year review

This is an annual post reviewing the last year and setting intentions for next year. I look over different life areas (work, health, parenting, effectiveness, etc) and analyze my life tracking data. Highlights include a minimal group house, the usefulness…

via Victoria Krakovna January 19, 2026

more     (via openring)