1927 Clason Map of Chicago, Illinois

This is an attractive c. 1927 Clason Map Company pictorial city plan or map of Chicago, Illinois. Depicting from Howard Street south to East and West 87th Street, important buildings throughout are illustrated in profile, including the Field Museum, The Art Institute, the Museum of Natural History, Wrigley Field (labeled as Cubs Ball Park), and Comiskey Park (labeled White Sox Ball Park). Similar vignettes illustrate hotels, schools, hospitals, office buildings, churches, and numerous other buildings. The city's parks, cemeteries, and golf and polo clubs are illustrated and colored green. Published for the Chicago Motor Coach Company, pink, green, and red lines trace the motor coach routes through the North Site, West Side, and South Side, respectively.

Verso Content

On the verso, a pictorial map centered on the Chicago River depicts the Loop, covering from Harrison Street north to the intersection of Rush Street and Bellevue Place, west as far as Canal Street, and east to Lake Michigan. It details downtown Chicago, including the Magnificent Mile and the Chicago Loop. Important buildings, including The Art Institute, Grand Central Station, and Union Station are illustrated by profile vignettes. Numerous other buildings, representing leading hotels, department stores, public buildings, churches, clubs, theaters, office buildings and industrial plants, are illustrated in a similar manner. Individual streets are named, with parks, coach routes, and railroads identified. Beautiful illustrations of ships and sailboats are included in the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. An inset in the lower right notes the starting points of coach lines running downtown. An explanation below the title notes the significance of downtown Chicago and the areas depicted here.

Publication History and Census

This map was copyrighted and issued by the Clason Map Company, Chicago on July 10, 1925. The map is undated and there is significant confusion concerning the dating of this piece. The copyright was filed on July 10, 1925 for both maps. After researching a large percentage of the buildings on the map, we have been unable to locate any that were built after 1928, suggesting a c. 1927 publication date.