1908 Illinois Tunnel Company Map of Chicago
DESCRIPTION
This rare and highly detailed map, issued by the Illinois Tunnel Company in the early 20th century, depicts the subterranean freight tunnel system that once operated beneath the streets of downtown Chicago. Stretching across the central business district and radiating into key warehouse and rail yards, the map reveals a vast network of below-ground corridors used for transporting mail, merchandise, coal, ash, and supplies, entirely independent of street-level congestion.
Chicago Beneath the Surface: The Illinois Tunnel System
The map highlights the layout of the tunnel routes with thick black lines, snaking beneath the Loop and connecting with major railroad terminals, wholesale markets, and industrial facilities. The reach of the tunnel system spans from the Chicago River in the north to the Illinois Central freight yards along the lakefront, and westward toward the vast rail infrastructure near Union Station. The integration of the tunnel system with existing rail lines and basements of commercial buildings demonstrates a remarkable feat of urban engineering and planning.
First constructed beginning in 1899 and completed by 1906, the tunnel system eventually extended over 60 miles beneath downtown Chicago. Originally intended for telephone cables, it evolved into a major freight delivery network used primarily by department stores, railroads, and the U.S. Post Office. It allowed for 24-hour delivery services using electric locomotives and small freight cars, completely out of sight and unaffected by the surface traffic that increasingly clogged Chicago’s streets.
Shaping the Shoreline: Lakefront Expansion and a New Civic Spine
Beyond its utility as a tunnel schematic, the map captures a transformative moment in the reshaping of Chicago’s lakefront. At bottom-center, Lake Michigan is shown budding up against the Illinois Central Railway with a notation that it was "in process of filling up to dotted line." This reclamation project would eventually become Grant Park and the lakefront boulevards that now define the city’s eastern edge.
Also of note is a manuscript annotation that says "note" with a link running to what appears to be the Michigan Avenue bridge traversing the main branch of the Chicago river and connecting to Pine Street. This notation foreshadows the construction of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, completed in 1920, which helped to unify the North and South sides of the city’s principal commercial corridor. The bridge would later become a central feature of Burnham’s Plan of Chicago, enabling the transformation of North Michigan Avenue into the city’s premier boulevard.
At lower right, the map is signed by George W. Jackson, chief engineer of the Illinois Tunnel Company, further affirming its authenticity and technical purpose. Jackson oversaw the massive subterranean excavation and infrastructure work that made the system operational. While the tunnel network fell into decline by mid-century and was largely forgotten, it remains one of Chicago’s most ambitious and mysterious engineering accomplishments.
CONDITION
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