Submitted by Darryl, who says:

Going through old boxes in my basement, I came across this 1982 opus from the Duluth Transit Authority. I may be biased because it’s the first transit map I ever saw, but I think it’s amazing, capturing the way the city nestles into the topography, and showing most points of interest, and showing how transit ties everything together. This is a scan, but the copyright and source info is at the bottom of the map.

Due to file size limitations, I couldn’t attach their current map but it can be found here [PDF]. It looks like it’s probably GIS based, and it lacks all the charm and pride of place of the older one. It could be anywhere. And the color coding of the routes leaves a lot to be desired, although if you like shades of teal, I guess you have many options.

Transit Maps says:

I’m loving this, Darryl! The late 1970s/early 1980s were a high point for illustrated maps like this, and the company that made this one – Archar – was responsible for quite a few of them in this time period. The Geographicus Rare Antique Maps website offers a short biography of the firm, stating that they were best known for their “City Character Prints” – cartoonish maps intended to showcase the “character” of a city.

As Darryl notes, this map has character in spades, with landmark buildings lovingly rendered, neighbourhoods all getting a neat little sign with their name on it, and Duluth’s steep topography is deftly handled with some very obvious cliffs indicating the heights. The two insets provide some needed extra detail for Duluth and Superior’s downtown areas, and all the bus routes are indicated by brightly coloured lines, which also look hand drawn. There’s some sort of visual hierarchy to the routes (perhaps explained on the reverse side of the map), with lines getting different treatments and widths depending on the type of service – beaded lines for express routes, for example – but it’s fairly primitive compared to what we expect from a modern bus map.

Our final word: Very much of its era, but the level of skill and craftsmanship is also evident. Quite glorious!