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1965 Map of Lake Calumet

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Lake Calumet
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1989
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1989

About this map

The industrial heart of the South Side and its connection to the Great Lakes waterway system are prominently displayed in this mid-century survey. Lake Calumet and its surrounding wetlands are being actively reshaped by shipping infrastructure, including Turning Basin No. 1 and the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock and Dam along the Little Calumet River. These waterways serve as a massive rail-to-water junction, crowded by the Pennsylvania and Chicago Harbor Belt railroads.

Neighborhood character is defined by a dense network of Catholic parish schools, such as St. Michael High Sch and St. Florian Sch, alongside the sprawling industrial housing of Altgeld Gardens and Hegewisch. The map preserves the Old Indian Treaty Boundary cutting across the grid, while the newly constructed Skyway (Toll) and Calumet Expressway signal the transition toward the modern automotive era. This geography reflects a period where the massive steel and shipping industries of South Chicago were at their peak.