Historical Aerial Photography CD Roms 1939

The statewide graphic Photo Index was prepared using GIS software (ESRI ArcView) and RIGIS data. The images for 1939 are contained on three separate CDROMs: 39North, 39South, and 39East. Computer viewing software provided on this CDROM is courtesy of LizardTech Inc. of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

A separate photoindex in html format for the CDROMs, 39North, 39South and 39East, are linked to corresponding images for Rhode Island. To view the linked images install the provided MrSID_GeoViewer_setup.exe software and open the HTML document. Then click on any index box to view the corresponding image. Photo numbers were derived from the photo number of each original photograph. Photo index outline limits are approximate.

Aerial photography in Rhode Island for 1939 was captured by Standard Aerial Surveys, Inc. Newark, NJ and donated to the archived collection of photography at Statewide Planning. The original photography used for this project consisted of 1,538 - 9" X 9"photographs produced using standard airborne photogrammetric techniques between May 10 and May 30, 1939. Actual dates along with a photo identification number were imprinted on each of the photographs. Approximately every other image was used to create the 1939 indexes, utilizing 706 images. For this project three separate index CDROM products have been produced, one for northern RI, one for southern Rhode Island and one for Eastern RI including the Narragansett Bay islands, Block Island and the East Bay region, providing full coverage for the state. Each of the CDROM contains one of the three indexes, which then have a row of overlap with the bordering indexes. The 39Northern index contains 308 images, 39Southern index contains 248 images and the 39Eastern index contains 206 images.

Scanning of the original photopositive images was done under contract with equipment provided and operated by consultants at the Statewide Planning Offices in Providence in November of 2000 while 61 photopositive images numbered 101, 413, 641,700,728A, 1001-1198 and 1200-1226 were scanned by the GIS Analyst at the Statewide Planning office in May 2002. Reduction of the scanned product to TIF image file format, and compression to MrSID images was completed at the consultants' facilities in Billerica, Massachusetts and Silver Spring except for the previously mentioned 61 photopositive images which were compressed in house in May 2002. Individual prints were scanned on flat bed scanners using commercially available software and microcomputers with MSWindow operating systems. The scanning rate selected was 400 dots per inch (dpi) with 8 bit gray (standard) and software default settings selected. Resulting scanned images were saved to Tagged Image File (tif) format. The tif images were then compressed at a 5:1 ratio with LizardTech MrSID Geospatial Encoder 1.4 and saved with file names corresponding to the same photo numbers imprinted on the photos. Indexing and transfer of data to CDROM media was conducted at the Rhode Island Department of Administration, Statewide Planning Program by state employees in May 2002.

Software

For those who are not already GIS users or who lack the specialized software required for extended GIS analysis, we have included Lizardtech's MrSID GeoViewer. This program is also available for free over the world wide web and can be accessed at http://www.lizardtech.com/. Please consult the accompanying license for any questions concerning this program's usage.

If you do not already have Arcview or another application that supports the MrSID image format, you will need to install the MrSID GeoViewer software on your computer. 

MrSID GeoViewer is a very small installation. It requires only the following:

Windows

  • Microsoft® Windows 95/98/2000 or Windows NT® 4.0 with service pack 6 or greater
  • 200MHz PC processor
  • Minimum of64MB RAM
  • Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater, or Netscape® navigator 4.5-4.7

Power Macintosh

  • Apple® G3 or later
  • Mac® OS 9 or later
  • 20MB allocated to Web browser
  • 5MB hard disk space
  • Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater or Netscape® Navigator 4.5-4.

Additionally, please note that ESRI's Arcexplorer (2.0) supports the MrSID image format. Arcexplorer is a free GIS data viewer available from ESRI. For information about other GIS and image processing software with which to view MrSID images, please see http://www.lizardtech.com/.

About RIGIS

The Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS) is a consortium of government and private organizations employing computer and communications technology to manage and use a collective database of comprehensive geographically related information. The mission of the RIGIS is to monitor, coordinate, and provide leadership for activities related to the use of GIS technology within Rode Island, to support initiatives to implement or use the technology, and to manage and provide access to a common database of geographically referenced information.

The RIGIS database is maintained on a server at the University of Rhode Island's Kingston Campus, and at the Rhode Island Department of Administration in Providence. The Environmental Data Center within the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at the University provides on line access (web-browser only) to most RIGIS data via the Internet at www.edc.uri.edu/RIGIS. Data can also be provided on magnetic and optical media by request from the RIGIS coordinator at the RI Department of Administration's Statewide Planning program at rigis@admin.ri.gov.

RIGIS data are copyright protected and licensed for use by the RI Board of Governors for Higher Education. Restrictions include prohibiting the secondary distribution of RIGIS data without prior written approval.

RIGIS Contact Information:

John Stachelhaus-RIGIS Coordinator
RI Dept. of Administration/Statewide Planning
1 Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02908

email: rigis@admin.ri.gov

telephone: (401) 222-6483