1930 Clason City Plan or Map of Chicago, Illinois

This is a c. 1930 Clason city plan or map of Chicago, Illinois. This map details Chicago near the end of notorious gangster Al Capone's time as boss of the Chicago Outfit.

A Closer Look

The map depicts Chicago from Evanston in the north to De Youngs, Riverdale, Dolton, and Burnham in the south and from Park Ridge in the west to Lake Michigan. City parks are shaded green, including Lincoln Park (with the zoo labeled), Grant Park, and Jackson Park. Major boulevards are also colored green. The Loop, Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs), Comiskey Park (home of the Chicago White Sox), and the Union Stock Yards are highlighted in red. A black and white dashed line follows the 'L'. An inset map along the right side details the 'Loop', labeling the Public Library, Art Institute, Grand Central Station, hotels, and theaters. A detailed street index surrounds the map.

Clason's Green Guide Series (1920 - 1931)

The Clason Map Company began publishing what became known as Green Guides in 1906. The first few were local to Clason, focusing on Colorado Springs, Denver, and Colorado. Between 1907 and 1919, Clason greatly expanded the series. In 1908, the iconic green cover was introduced. That year, the series expanded to 7 states: Colorado, Arizona (1907), Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The covers of Clason's guidebooks changed several times between 1908 and 1919 but remained green. New cities were added, including Salt Lake City, Utah, and Butte, Montana. The guide was first referred to as the Green Guide in 1920, terminology that Clason adopted. The series continued to change throughout the 1920s. In 1930, the series was rebranded as 'The Green Guide Series.' The last Clason Green Guides were published in 1931.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by the Clason Map Company c. 1930. Nine examples of a map bearing the same title are cataloged in OCLC, but few are digitized.