1963 Map of Chicago Loop

About this map

Lake Michigan dominates the eastern edge of this dense urban study, where the Chicago River and its Turning Basin anchor the industrial and maritime core of the city. The landscape is a sprawling grid of neighborhoods defined by a massive concentration of civic and religious institutions, including several massive burial grounds such as Rosehill Cemetery, Graceland Cemetery, and the Bohemian National Cemetery. The shoreline reveals significant 1960s infrastructure, from the Filtration Plant and Navy Pier to the sports and science hubs at Soldier Field and the Adler Planetarium. High-speed transit routes like the Kennedy Expwy and Eisenhower Expwy carve through the city, intersecting the older rail networks of the Chicago and North Western and the C & N W. This 1963 survey captures a moment of intense postwar density, documenting dozens of local schools and hospitals serving the diverse communities of Chicago.