1953 Map of Palos Park

About this map

Palos Hills Forest Preserve and Argonne Forest Preserve provide a massive green belt through this suburbanizing landscape, featuring distinctive wetlands like Pollywog Slough and Belly Deep Slough. The region is defined by the industrial and transport engineering of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Calumet Sag Channel, which cross the terrain alongside the Wabash and Chicago Belt Terminal railroads. This mid-century view captures the transition of the Illinois prairie into residential communities, documented through numerous neighborhood schools like St Albert Sch and Sandburg High Sch. Extensive burial grounds, including the massive Holy Sepulchre Cemetery and the isolated Bachelor Grove Cem, underscore the area's role as a major regional cemetery hub. Near Chicago Ridge and Worth, the Harlem Airport and a Drive-in Theater highlight the era's reliance on aviation and automotive culture.