A 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.

At 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.

Southward, 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.

North 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.

Streets 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.

As 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.

Streets and roads on this map

• Addison Street
• Archer Avenue
• Belmont Avenue
• Clark Street
• Damen Avenue
• Division Street
• Grand Avenue
• Halsted Street
• Harrison Street
• Higgins Avenue
• Jefferson Street
• Lincoln Avenue
• Madison Street
• Michigan Avenue
• Milwaukee Avenue
• North Avenue
• Orange Avenue
• Pulaski Road
• Randolph Street
• Roosevelt Road
• South Shore Drive
• State Street
• Taylor Street
• Western Avenue
• Wicker Park Avenue
• 27th Avenue
• Chicago Avenue
• 18th Street
• 55th Street
• 79th Street

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Arlington Park
• Academy of Science
• Aquarium
• Chicago Stadium
• Chicago River
• Civic Opera
• Elks Memorial
• Field Museum
• Financial District
• Furniture Mart
• Grand Central Station
• Hull House
• International Amphitheatre
• Jackson Park
• Lincoln Park
• Lincoln Park Zoo
• Merchandise Mart
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Navy Pier
• Outer Drive
• Public Library
• Soldier Field
• Washington Park
• Water Tower
• White Sox Ball Park

Historical and design context

• Creation Date: 1945, representing a significant period in Chicago’s development.
• Mapmaker/Publisher: The Chicago Association of Commerce, instrumental in promoting the city’s economic development.
• Themes and Topics: Landmarks, parks, cultural institutions, and significant events highlighting mid-20th-century urban growth.
• Jurisdictions Shown: Chicago and its key features along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
• Design and Style: Colorful, pictorial illustrations showcasing notable buildings and parks.
• Historical Significance: Reflects Chicago’s historical and cultural evolution, capturing the city’s landscape at a crucial time.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed 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.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every 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.

With 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 rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.