2000 census shapefiles search odyssey

[HannesZiegler1]

Please help me someone. I've been searching for several days now for a way to download 2000 census block shapefiles, and I can't figure it out. I've found several leads as to where I can get the files, but they've all lead to dead ends. I first found this website https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html​, where, under the 2000 tab, I downloaded some ascii files that I can't read. I then came across this document http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/data/tiger/How_do_I_choose_TIGER_vintage.pdf ​ where a * note next to the 2000 data tells me that I can find the 2000 shapefiles under the 2010 tab on this same website https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html​. Again, a dead end, because I can't for the life of me find where these 2000 files are supposed to be located. This is the FTP directory I finally ended up at, ftp://ftp2.census.gov/geo/pvs/tiger2010st/12_Florida/12099/, but all the files are of 2010...

Ok. Then I found some instructions that seemed to make it possible to download the shapefiles straight from the AmericanFactfinder website! Simply click on view data once you've selected your data, click on map, and then download the shapefiles. Didn't work. All I get are compressed folders with a single one line text file inside..

Does anyone have any idea where I can possibly find 2000 census shapefiles?

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

I looked into this a bit and suspect you will have to convert them.

I downloaded a file from the 2000 Census (ftp://ftp2.census.gov/geo/tiger/tigerua/CA/) and it looks like it is a zipped RT datafile.

I've have not dealt with RT files myself, but there are suggestions in an older forum link:

Census Bureau 2000 TIGER/Line Files.  This discussion offers 3 solutions to convert Tiger RT to a Coverage format:

• If you have access to ArcInfo Workstation, using TIGERARC or TIGERTOOL commands in the command-line to create a coverage:

Basic Tiger Conversion—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 - Basic Tiger Conversion (Coverage)

http://dept.kent.edu/gis/FileLib/AdvGIS/4aiDConv/4c%20-%20ai%20TIGER/ex9.pdf

• There is the TIGER to Coverage tool in ArcToolbox (but you will need an Advanced license).
• There apparently was a custom tool which will go right to a shapefile that you can look into:

TGR2SHP software from www.gistools.com. However, the link no longer goes to an active site.

Now, your are probably wondering why most of the suggestions go to a Coverage instead of a Shapefile.  According to the documentation, the Coverage format was standard until 2007.

Starting in 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau switched to a shapefile based format. Use the Feature Class To Coverage tool on these.

Source:  Advanced Tiger Conversion—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

If you are able to convert to a Coverage, you can then convert them to a shapefile (several methods).

CAUTION:  When you do get a Coverage set up, DO NOT try to copy or modify it outside GIS.  Use ArcCatalog to move it.  Be aware that each Coverage creates a multitude of files and folders - you will suddenly see lots of stuff on your drive - that is normal.  The format was created long before Windows existed.  Don't mess with these files and folders with Windows Explorer unless you are experienced, or the data will soon be corrupted.

Also, let me add someone very knowledgeable and ArcInfo here in case she has additional ideas:

Rebecca Strauch, GISP

Chris Donohue, GISP

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

Thanks for the mention Chris, although I haven' used iger files much myself, I was able to download a .zip file, unzip it and use the 10.3.x   "Basic Tiger Conversion" tool to convert the files to a ArcInfo Coverage...very fast, but as Chris mentions, it does require an ArcInfo/Advanced level of license (but can be done with Desktop, that is ArcInfo Workstation is not required)

For the first argument, I selected the first file in the unzipped folder, an let the rest go as the defaults. (I downloaded an Alaska file).  I just did one of the zip files for demonstration (happens to be the municipality of Anchorage) which created an "arc" (line) coverage.

From there you can use the Coverage to Feature class tool or other tools to convert to a shape file or FGDB feature class (the tic file isn't really necessary,  just showing the files that will be converted by default)

the results

By the way, the tic file in this case are the four corners of the extent.  But in the days of manually digitizing on a digitizing table, tics were added throughout the coverage layer to register paper documents to the table and the digital file, so what was digitized aligned in the correct area.  With headsup digitizing and registering, the tic files are not used/needed very often anymore.

[HannesZiegler1]

I just type out a huge response to the answers I got, and then my browser crashed. I wanted to thank you guys for helping me find out more, and also was typing out instructions for downloading shapefiles (I finally found out how). I will come back and post those here when I find some time, I'm too busy atm. Thank you guys for all the help!