Transit Maps: Grand Rapids

All posts tagged: Grand Rapids

Historical Map: Interurban Railways Around Chicago, c. 1921

June 8, 2026

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1921, Chicago, Gary, Grand Rapids, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Milwaukee, Rockford, USA, Wisconsin

A lovely map of the electric interurban lines radiating out from Chicago “over hill and valley, by lake and stream,” compiled by the Chicago Evening Standard newspaper. The source I obtained this map from tentatively dates it to 1921; perhaps people with more familiarity with the history of the railways represented would be able to verify this better than I can. The map covers a massive area: over 200 miles from east to west, and […]

Submission – Historical Map: “The Short Way” Lines Map, Michigan, 1935

January 18, 2016

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1935, Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, bus, bus map, Detroit, Furniture City, Grand Rapids, illustration, Michigan, submission, The Short Way

Submitted by xoverit, who says: There was one other map inside of the 5 August 1935 Michigan Official Motor Bus Guide, and it’s quite different [to the Eastern Michigan Bus map previously featured – Cam], though suffering from the same cheap paper. Charmingly over-ornate, my favorite detail is that Poseidon seems to have taken up residence off of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. As for the map’s practical purpose, I guess it gets the job done. […]

Historical Map: Eastern Michigan Bus System Map, August 1935

January 3, 2016

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1935, Ann Arbor, Blue Goose Lines, bullseye, bus, bus map, copyright, Detroit, Eastern Michigan System, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalazmazoo, Lansing, Michigan, motorcoach, roundel, submission, Toledo, USA

Submitted by xoverit, who says: I found this interesting thing inside of the 5 August 1935 Michigan Official Motor Bus Guide. It’s not a particularly good or notable map, but the logo of the Eastern Michigan System was obviously inspired by the London Underground! Transit Maps says: I’d say you’re almost certainly right… the “bullseye” (as it was called in those days, though it’s now commonly referred to as the “roundel”) was seized upon by transit agencies […]