Red Line L Train
Rather lovely strip map for the Red Line at Lake station. The Cubs logo in place of the station dot at Addison station is a very deft touch — providing useful information without detracting from the simplicity of the map.
The tiles in the station are rather nice too, although having a big “L” for “elevated” in one of the few subterranean stations in the system is a little ironic, don’t you think?
EDIT: Oh, of course… it’s “L” for “Lake”. Silly old me.
(Source: Taekwonweirdo/Flickr)
El Injunction
Staying on a Chicago theme for the day. Okay, so the actual map of the Brown Line is way, way in the back, but this is such a great “slice of life” photo that I couldn’t resist. Just another day on the El…
(Source: TheeErin/Flickr)
The Colors of Public Transit
Love, love, love this photo of wayfinding signage in Chicago. Anyone know which station this is? I’m guessing one of the Wabash stations on the Loop, but don’t know enough about them to narrow it down further.
Edit: Knowledgeable readers have identified this sign as being at Clark/Lake station - thanks!
(Source: k.james/Flickr)
There is also a version for dudes.
MUST ACQUIRE.
More Chicago goodness. The Loop makes a striking T-shirt design, although I wish the corner curves were nested properly with each other.
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18th September 2012
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Reblogged From fuckyeahcartography
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Notes: 106
Historical Map: Birds-Eye View of Chicago, 1908
Courtesy of the always amazing Big Map Blog (you really should follow them on Tumblr and Twitter), here’s an incredible birds-eye view of Chicago and its elevated railways from 1908. More than anything, I love the minute attention to detail on this - smoke curls from factory chimneys, almost every tree in the city’s parks seems to be present. Of particular note is the spur line out to Union Stock Yards, the self-proclaimed “butchery capital of the world”. So many worked at the yards that this line was an absolute necessity to move them in and out.
Our rating: Incredible attention to detail combined with a breathtaking viewpoint make this compelling. 5 stars!
(Source: Big Map Blog)
Historical Map: Chicago Plan Commission - Rapid Transit Facilities, 1945
Here’s a gorgeous pre-CTA planning map from Chicago in 1945, outlining all sorts of grandiose ideas for expansion of the subway system, almost none of which have actually come to pass. There appears to be a proposed second Loop, which would have run more east-west than the existing one. There’s also a planned subway line heading out to the northwest, but this doesn’t follow the same alignment as the Blue Line, and a subway line running along Belmont Avenue.
Have we been there? Yes.
What we like: Awesome old-school cartography at its finest. The shading to show the city limits is quite beautiful. The map looks gorgeous at larger sizes (click through to take a look!)
What we don’t like: Limited use of colour (almost certainly due to wartime austerity measures) does make some detail hard to make out. The blobs on the “L” lines don’t represent stations; it’s just the type of linework used to differentiate it from other lines, such as roads.
Our rating: A glimpse at what might have been, but never was. Fantastic! Four-and-a-half-stars.
(Source: Eric Fischer/Flickr)
Chicago “L” In-Car Map
These narrow above-door spaces are a bitch to fit an entire system map into. This really is probably the best that can be done for a big system like Chicago’s.
(Source: veryslowtimetraveler/Flickr)
