1924 Map of the Central Business District of Chicago
DESCRIPTION
By: Chicago Real Estate Index Co.
Date: 1924 (dated) Chicago
Dimensions: 22 x 12 inches (56 30.5 cm)
This Map of the Central Business District of Chicago, compiled by the Chicago Real Estate Index Co. in the 1920s, presents a detailed view of downtown at a pivotal moment of expansion. Streets and avenues are carefully delineated, while parks, cultural institutions, railway terminals, and harbor facilities reveal the city’s ambitions to modernize its infrastructure and redefine its lakefront. Surviving in only a handful of institutional collections (mostly in Chicago) and seldom appearing in the trade, the map is a scarce and little-seen depiction of the city’s evolving core.
Examining the Map: Waterfront and Urban Development
While the focus of the map is the "Central Business District," it notably presents the re-engineered mouth of the Chicago River, reflecting early 20th-century projects aimed at improving navigation, sanitation, and commercial access. The channel is presented in a structured, widened form, anticipating the major straightening and realignment that would follow in the late 1920s and early 1930s. This formalized depiction marks a departure from the irregular, utilitarian waterfronts of earlier decades.
Navy Pier is already shown extending prominently into Lake Michigan, a defining landmark of the central waterfront. South of the river, the map also depicts a proposed or partially realized pier with dashed lines near slips D and E. This addition coincides with extensive lakefront reclamation projects that were reshaping the shoreline. The new land created in this area would eventually form what is today known as the Near East Side, bordered by DuSable Lake Shore Drive and DuSable Harbor. At the time, these improvements reflected Chicago’s commitment to expanding its role as both a commercial port and a civic center.
The map also illustrates the dominance of rail in the city’s commercial core, with major railway terminals and yards concentrated near the South Branch of the Chicago River. Along the lakefront, significant cultural buildings such as the Field Museum and other structures from the city’s earlier exhibition grounds appear, laying the foundation for what would become the Grant Park cultural campus. This juxtaposition of rail infrastructure, commercial depots, and monumental civic buildings demonstrates the multi-functional nature of the central business district during Chicago’s rise as a national hub.
Context of this Map and Chicago in the 1920s
This map captures Chicago in transition. Earlier 19th-century maps recorded rapid expansion and speculative plotting, while this example reflects a more organized, planned urban fabric. The lakefront is depicted not only as an industrial and transportation zone but also as a civic and cultural space. Later maps would show the completion of these visions, including the straightening of the river and further development of Grant Park and Soldier Field. This 1920s depiction preserves the moment when Chicago’s central district balanced its industrial might with a growing emphasis on civic identity and urban beautification and recreation.
Condition: Map is in very fine condition on fine paper with the top-right corner torn away. Bright colors and no loss of image with ample margins for framing.
Inventory #13107
CONDITION
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