(The Newberry -- map4F G4104 .C6 A3 1898 P6 [PrCt])
This remarkably precise illustration of downtown Chicago created on behalf of the Illinois Central Railroad Company offers a host of familiar historical details: the elevated trains snaking their way around the Loop; the swing bridges opening to let ships pass in the Chicago River; and a number of buildings still recognizable today, including the Chicago Cultural Center between Randolph and Washington and the former Chicago Athletic Association at 12 S. Michigan Avenue. But for the purposes of considering changes made to the lakefront, perhaps the unfamiliar is most telling: Lake Michigan comes almost up to Michigan Avenue, which is bound only by the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad and a thin strip of manicured green space then known as Lake Park.
For more on this map, check out WBEZ's story about the history of Chicago's coastline:
http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-how-has-chicago%E2%80%99s-coastline-changed-over-decades-104328
Original Title
Bird’s-Eye View of the Business District of Chicago, 1898
(The Newberry -- map4F G4104 .C6 A3 1898 P6 [PrCt])
This remarkably precise illustration of downtown Chicago created on behalf of the Illinois Central Railroad Company offers a host of familiar historical details: the elevated trains snaking their way around the Loop; the swing bridges opening to let ships pass in the Chicago River; and a number of buildings still recognizable today, including the Chicago Cultural Center between Randolph and Washington and the former Chicago Athletic Association at 12 S. Michigan Avenue. But for the purposes of considering changes made to the lakefront, perhaps the unfamiliar is most telling: Lake Michigan comes almost up to Michigan Avenue, which is bound only by the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad and a thin strip of manicured green space then known as Lake Park.
For more on this map, check out WBEZ's story about the history of Chicago's coastline:
http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-how-has-chicago%E2%80%99s-coastline-changed-over-decades-104328
(The Newberry -- map4F G4104 .C6 A3 1898 P6 [PrCt])
This remarkably precise illustration of downtown Chicago created on behalf of the Illinois Central Railroad Company offers a host of familiar historical details: the elevated trains snaking their way around the Loop; the swing bridges opening to let ships pass in the Chicago River; and a number of buildings still recognizable today, including the Chicago Cultural Center between Randolph and Washington and the former Chicago Athletic Association at 12 S. Michigan Avenue. But for the purposes of considering changes made to the lakefront, perhaps the unfamiliar is most telling: Lake Michigan comes almost up to Michigan Avenue, which is bound only by the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad and a thin strip of manicured green space then known as Lake Park.
For more on this map, check out WBEZ's story about the history of Chicago's coastline:
http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/question-answered-how-has-chicago%E2%80%99s-coastline-changed-over-decades-104328