{"product_id":"old-pictorial-map-of-chicago-1945-the-loop-navy-pier-chicago-river-field-museum-soldier-field","title":"Old Pictorial Map of Chicago, 1945: The Loop, Navy Pier, Chicago River, Field Museum, Soldier Field","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Chart of Chicago, issued in 1945 by the Chicago Association of Commerce, captures the city at a moment of muscular renewal and postwar confidence. Rendered in a colorful pictorial style, it is both a guide and a civic manifesto, staging Chicago against the gleam of Lake Michigan and the sinuous course of the Chicago River. The shoreline anchors the composition, while illustrated landmarks rise like milestones of commerce and culture. As a city map, it is compelling for how it frames urban space not merely as streets and blocks but as an interconnected theater of museums, parks, arenas, and markets—an image of a metropolis whose vitality is legible at a glance. Boosterism meets cartography, and the result is irresistible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the city’s heart, the Loop and Near North are richly annotated. The Financial District concentrates downtown power, while the Civic Opera presides over the river’s edge. The Merchandise Mart—then the world’s largest commercial building—commands a bend of the river, paired in spirit with the lakefront’s imposing Furniture Mart. The storied Water Tower punctuates Michigan Avenue, where the Public Library anchors the Cultural Mile. The Chicago River stitches these icons together with draws and bridges, and the Outer Drive modernizes the lakefront’s sweep to Navy Pier. West of downtown, Chicago Stadium signals a city that cheers as loudly as it trades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouthward, the map unfurls Chicago’s grand civic campus: the Field Museum, the Aquarium, and Soldier Field in a triumphant row by the water. Jackson Park carries the legacy of the World’s Fair into the mid-century, hosting the Museum of Science and Industry, while Washington Park opens green space inland. The White Sox Ball Park anchors the South Side’s sporting life, and the International Amphitheatre nods to the stockyards’ enduring economic magnetism. Arterials like Archer Avenue and Pulaski Road steer industry and neighborhoods toward the lake, while South Shore Drive ribbons the waterfront. The cartography makes a persuasive case for a city where culture, sport, and work share a continuous stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNorth and west, the map celebrates Chicago’s park system and neighborhood tapestry. Lincoln Park stretches as the city’s emerald façade, with the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Academy of Science, and the domed Elks Memorial arrayed in easy reach of the shore. Diagonal spurs—Milwaukee Avenue and Lincoln Avenue—slice the grid to reach growing districts around Belmont and Addison, while Damen, Western, and Halsted form reliable north–south spines. Wicker Park Avenue gestures to the creative bustle around Division and North Avenue, and Higgins carries the viewer’s eye toward Arlington Park, the storied racetrack that widens the chart’s metropolitan horizon. Grand Central Station and Jefferson Street evoke a rail-borne city forever knitting itself to the nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStreets serve as narrative threads as much as coordinates: State and Madison define the grid’s zero point; Michigan Avenue delivers spectacle; Randolph and Roosevelt carry the day’s traffic and the city’s ambitions. The map’s illustrated vignettes—Hull House on Halsted and Taylor Street, the Merchandise Mart along the Chicago River, Navy Pier thrusting into the lake—compose an album of civic identity. By juxtaposing institutions with thoroughfares—Clark Street’s bustle, Western Avenue’s endless reach, Chicago Avenue’s east–west corridor—the chart turns urban form into story. It is a portrait of movement: of people, goods, ideas, and leisure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs an artifact of 1945, this chart radiates the Chicago Association of Commerce’s talent for persuasive storytelling. It lionizes industry without neglecting parks, celebrates culture without losing sight of working streets like Harrison, Roosevelt Road, and 55th and 79th Streets. The result is a city map that remains notable not just for what it shows, but for how it shows it—layering commerce over culture, shoreline over skyline, and neighborhood over grid. In these playful yet precise illustrations, mid-century Chicago reveals itself as both destination and engine, a metropolis perpetually in motion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStreets and roads on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAddison Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArcher Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelmont Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClark Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDamen Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDivision Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrand Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHalsted Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarrison Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHiggins Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJefferson Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLincoln Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMadison Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMichigan Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMilwaukee Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNorth Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrange Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePulaski Road\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRandolph Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoosevelt Road\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSouth Shore Drive\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eState Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTaylor Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWestern Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWicker Park Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e27th Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChicago Avenue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e18th Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e55th Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e79th Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArlington Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcademy of Science\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAquarium\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChicago Stadium\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChicago River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCivic Opera\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eElks Memorial\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eField Museum\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFinancial District\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFurniture Mart\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrand Central Station\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHull House\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInternational Amphitheatre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJackson Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLincoln Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLincoln Park Zoo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMerchandise Mart\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMuseum of Science and Industry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNavy Pier\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOuter Drive\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublic Library\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSoldier Field\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWashington Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWater Tower\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhite Sox Ball Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreation Date: 1945, representing a significant period in Chicago’s development.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker\/Publisher: The Chicago Association of Commerce, instrumental in promoting the city’s economic development.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThemes and Topics: Landmarks, parks, cultural institutions, and significant events highlighting mid-20th-century urban growth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJurisdictions Shown: Chicago and its key features along the Lake Michigan shoreline.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesign and Style: Colorful, pictorial illustrations showcasing notable buildings and parks.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical Significance: Reflects Chicago’s historical and cultural evolution, capturing the city’s landscape at a crucial time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca href=\"\/it\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Map","offer_id":67612862906759,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":67612862939527,"sku":null,"price":202.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":67612862972295,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":67612863005063,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":67612863037831,"sku":null,"price":202.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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