Showing an alternate future where everything in a 2014 proposal actually got built, this is without a doubt one of the best looking Chicago transit maps I have ever seen – just lovely work from Michael. Many designers have tried to integrate the Loop into the main map instead of using an inset before, but rarely as successfully as this. Michaels’ Loop fits the scale of the rest of the map really well, and just […]
A map from on what looks like a presentation board showing the mid-1970s version of the Chicago Central Area Transit Plan. Initially planned as a whole new system of subway lines to entirely replace the Loop in downtown Chicago in the late 1960s, rising costs caused the program to be split into parts: the “Core Plan” seen here, with the balance to be built later. As it happened, none of it was ever actually constructed. […]
Submitted by Carter, who says: I’ve always been fascinated with trains and tube-style maps, so I decided to make my own based on my home-town’s railroad. I found an old Official Guide which I used as my source for this map. I’d like to hear what your think of it. Transit Maps says: Carter says that this is his first map, and I think it’s absolutely amazing for a first effort. Even with an official […]
Submitted by Rahul, who says: Hey! Wanted your comment on my redesign of the Metra map. Been a fan of the blog for a while, and I started making maps a few months ago. I would appreciate any feedback and comments. Transit Maps says: I like this a lot, Rahul! Very clean, slick and easy to follow. Pleasingly, the fare zones are clean and subtle – I note with some dismay that the Chicago RTA’s “Train […]
Here’s a fantastic (if slightly idealised) view of the then still-under-construction State Street Subway from a c.1940 postcard. This view looks northward along State Street from Adams, and shows the Monroe-Adams mezzanine. Note the direct access from the mezzanine level to the basement level of businesses on either side of State Street – now long since closed. Text on the reverse side of the postcard reads: Cut-away view of Chicago’s subway in the Central Business District. […]
In the late 1960s, Chicago actually seriously considered knocking down the elevated parts of the “L” and replacing it all with a modern subway network. The plan originally called for multiple lines, but these got whittled down over the years for a variety of reasons – lack of funding being one of the major ones. By 1977, all that remained on the table was the Franklin Street Subway, shown in red in the handsome illustrated […]
Submitted by long-time correspondent, Kara, who says: Here’s a project I’ve been working on for a while now—quite possibly one of the most difficult maps I’ve ever made. You and I hold similar opinions of Chicago’s RTA system map, namely, that it’s decent, but it could be better. So I’ve been working on optimizing a unified map of Chicago’s urban rail, showing the CTA and the inner regions of the Metra. My goal was to […]
Submitted by Kara, who says: I know you’ve reflected less than favorably in the past on maps done “in the style of” the London Tube map, but here’s a piece I made redrawing Chicago’s CTA routes in the style of the current edition of London’s iconic map, complete with a hybrid TFL/CTA logo. I lovingly refer to the result as “TF-‘el’.” The style is not transcribed perfectly, I’m aware – perhaps, in light of the […]
Submitted by marmarinou – who runs a cool Tumblr dedicated to Chicago-area railroads and trains. A very basic map of the South Shore Line between Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN appended to the back cover of a railfan tour brochure from 1939. The day-long tour of the line was organised by the Central Electric Railfans Association, which is still extant today. Check out the original source of the image (keep scrolling down) for the inside spread […]
Words cannot express just how much I love this beautiful, beautiful map by Maxwell Roberts, whose work I’ve featured on the blog many times previously. I had the privilege of seeing this map “in the flesh” at the New York Transit Museum event I attended earlier this month, and it looks even more impressive as an actual print. The map is inspired by the work of the famous architect and designer, Frank Lloyd Wright – most […]
