Chicago Plan Commission

Chicago Plan Commission lantern slide collection, 1910s-1930s.

Finding Aid for the Collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center

Rev. by Lesley Martin, 2008

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Title: Chicago Plan Commission lantern slide collection [graphic], 1910s-1930s.

Inclusive dates: 1910s-1930s.

Size: 3615 transparencies : lantern slide ; 9 x 10 cm. (3 1/4 x 4 in.) or smaller.

Call #: 1986.0497 PLS.a-b

Accession #: 1986.0497

Restriction: To consult this collection in the Research Center it is necessary to make an advance appointment (email: Research@chicagohistory.org ).

This finding aid includes:

Description of the collection,

Provenance statement,

List of headings in the online catalog for this collection,

Container list of box and slide numbers and descriptions.

Summary:

Lantern slides used by the Chicago Plan Commission (CPC), which was formed in 1909 as an outcome of the Burnham Plan. Slides were used to illustrate lectures that were given to organizations and businesses to promote the Plan of Chicago. Subjects include street, park, and lakefront improvements especially in the Grant Park and south lakeshore areas of Chicago; and new and remodeled public buildings, such as railroad stations and museums. Slides show photographs, aerial photographs, drawings, maps, and diagrams, and sometimes text.

Includes illustrations for plans for other cities that were considered by Chicago planners, including London, New York City, Washington, Paris (?), Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Des Moines, Detroit, Harrisburg (Pa), Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Portland, St. Louis, Seattle, and Spokane.

Numbers on slides are not consecutive but presumably were used in creating different presentations. Some slides are unnumbered or have two numbers.

Some glass slides are cracked and should be handled with care.

Provenance statement:

Gift of Department of Planning, City of Chicago, 1986 (1986.0497).

List of headings in the online catalog for this collection:

Subjects:

Chicago (Ill.). Dept. of Planning

Chicago Plan Commission

Chicago plan.

Waterfronts--Illinois--Chicago.

Streets--Illinois--Chicago.

Parks--Illinois--Chicago.

City planning--Illinois--Chicago.

City planning--New York (State)--New York.

City planning--England--London.

Roads--Illinois--Chicago.

Railroad stations--Illinois--Chicago.

Chicago (Ill.)--Pictorial works.

Michigan, Lake

Chicago River (Ill.)

South Water Street (Chicago, Ill.)

Michigan Avenue Chicago (Ill.)

Outer Lake Shore Drive Chicago (Ill.)

Avondale Avenue (Chicago, Ill.)

Lincoln Park (Chicago, Ill. : Park)

Grant Park (Chicago, Ill.)

Loop (Chicago, Ill.)

Near North Side (Chicago, Ill.)

Form/genre:

Lantern slides.

Aerial photographs.

Maps.

Planning drawings.

Diagrams.

Added entries:

Burnham, Daniel Hudson, 1846-1912

Chicago (Ill.). Dept. of Planning

Chicago Plan Commission

Commercial Club of Chicago. Plan of Chicago.

United States--Illinois--Cook County--Chicago.

Storage designation:

Call #: 1986.0497 PLS.a-b

42 boxes (4 x 5 in.)

Container list of box and slide numbers and descriptions:

Items already available as digital copies are labeled with ICHi-numbers.

Box 1

Slide numbers:

6 Aerial, probably medical district, including University of Illinois hospital

20 Aerial of Chicago lakefront

30 Caption: (Plan of Chicago.) A $40,000,000 park is being constructed along the lake front.

33 Labeled "Field Museum--aerial" Shows the building that was the Fine Arts Building in 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, then Field Museum, eventually became Museum of Science and Industry's building

34 Grant Park--aerial

57 Chicago River--aerial, early 1920s.

63 Port of Chicago area, freight yards (broken slide)

68 Michigan Avenue, aerial north from Chicago River showing Wrigley Building

72 Ogden Avenue improvement

73 Chicago River--aerial

74 Chicago, aerial view. ca. 1937 shows Lake Shore Drive Bridge

75 Aerial--six block area. Cermak and Cottage Grove

76 Pershing Road improvement, Cicero to Lake

77 Aerial of Roosevelt Road looking west, ca. 1920s. (Scan ICHi-51864)

83 Lake Zurich, Illinois (slide cracked)

Box 2

86 Small boats marina, possibly South Lincoln Park lagoon

90 Plan of Chicago improvements: Grant Park. (Image appeared in National Geographic, January 1919)

96 Rush Street Bridge, 1910s

97 River view with small bridge (Lagoon?)

98 Bridge freight yard, possibly Kinzie Street Bridge

981 Proposed bridge over Chicago River

100 Field Museum--construction

105 Sherman House images from 1837, 1844, 1861, 1873, and 1910

106 Sherman House images from 1837 and 1910

107 Chicago's Navy Pier

108 Field Museum, artist conception

110 Wells Street and new Chicago and Northwestern Railway Depot

113 Chicago--Rockwood

114 Rockwood

115 Park in the city (?) with flags

Box 3

29c Two barges on Lake, landfill operations near Lawrence Ave. (ICHi-51881 scan)

39 Des Plaines River drawing

58 Radial street map

78 Civic Center and 12th Street Terminals, bird’s eye view

98 (or 86) Proposed Northwestern University at Lake Shore Drive & Chicago Avenue

131 Elevation of proposed Civic Center

139 Labeled "New plan for civic center Graham and Burnham & Co." also "Terminal Talk only. Pennsylvania Civic Center plan."

149 Chicago dock area

168 Chicago survey map of a west side district, 1922, South Lawndale, Little Village

170 Map showing heights of buildings, South Lawndale, Little Village

185 McMillan Plan of Washington D.C., 1902 (ICHi-51865 scanned)

187 Chicago River north, waterfront improvement plan 1926 (ICHi-51866 scanned)

271 Chicago, Blighted District map 1937

288 Chicago, map showing building types (single family; two-flat, etc.) South Lawndale, Little Village

305 Chicago, drawing of proposed express highways, 1929

Box 4

2 Chicago in 1834

121 Michigan Avenue, Wrigley Building

123 Michigan Avenue, Wrigley Building

387 Chicago, drawing of Navy Pier

400 Des Plaines River (ICHi-51867 scanned)

402 Des Plaines River

nn Plat of property of the railroads in the business center of Chicago (ICHi-37503 scanned)

nn. Chicago, Plan of Field Museum

nn Waterfront view. Not Chicago; probably Paris

nn. Chicago, Northwestern University proposed campus

nn. Chicago Land Use Survey; Woodlawn neighborhood

nn. Chicago, map of highways 1916

nn Map of proposed roads between Chicago River's South Branch and Lake Michigan

nn. Chicago tree sites, shows radius around existing park, 1930s?

nn Artist conception, aerial along Chicago River

Box 5

125 River (broken)

126 Park

138 Canal Street development (broken)

141 Park

144 Des Plaines River

150 Wooden structure by river edge

151 Midway Plaisance

154 Boat on lake

177 Chicago, Water Street and Michigan Avenue

190 Chicago, alley

Box 6

6 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement, Michigan Canal substructure

7 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement, Michigan Canal substructure

8 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement

9 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement looking northeast

10 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement

11 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement, Michigan Canal substructure

12 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement

13 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement

19C. Outer Lake Shore Drive improvements, stone filled steel sheet piling breakwater 1931

21A Outer Lake Shore Drive improvements

22A Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement

23A Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement, 1931 Rest pier

24A? Outer Lake Shore Drive improvements

25A Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement, Chicago River Bridge

193 Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement study 1927 (cracked)

List of box numbers and topics:

Box# / Topic

Chicago views:

1 Chicago's Grant Park area--aerial views

2 Chicago parks, rivers

3 Chicago streets, diagrams

4 Chicago area land use, rivers

5 Chicago area parks, rivers

6 Chicago's Outer Lake Shore Drive improvement study, 1927

7 Chicago's Lincoln Park landfill, 1931

8 Chicago's Montrose Harbor--Margate to Foster Avenue, 1931

9 Chicago traffic plans

10 Chicago lakeshore--aerial views

11 Chicago Loop area planning maps

12 Chicago land use, Grant Park

13 Chicago land use, lakeshore--aerial views

14 Chicago traffic plans

15 Chicago traffic plans

16 Chicago's Avondale Avenue iimprovement--aerial views

17 Chicago proposed building designs

18 Chicago proposed building designs

19 Chicago proposed building designs

20 Chicago proposed building designs

21 Chicago aerial views

22 Chicago aerial views, proposed road plans, building designs

23 Chicago proposed road plans & by-passes

24 Chicago proposed road plans, South Water Street

25 Chicago proposed road plans

26 Chicago proposed road plans, maps & diagrams

27 Chicago proposed road plans, maps & diagrams

28 Chicago proposed road plans, maps & diagrams

29 Chicago proposed road plans, maps & diagrams

30 Chicago proposed road plans, maps & diagrams

31 City plans studied by CPC: Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus

32 City plans studied by CPC: Des Moines, Detroit

33 City plans studied by CPC: Harrisburg (PA), Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis

34 City plans studied by CPC: New York City

35 City plans studied by CPC: New York City, Philadelphia

36 City plans studied by CPC: Pittsburg, Portland, St. Louis, Seattle, Spokane

37 City plans studied by CPC: Washington, D.C.

38 City plans studied by CPC: London

39 City plans studied by CPC: London

40 City plans studied by CPC: London

41 City plans studied by CPC: London & unidentified

42 City plans studied by CPC: Unidentified - probably London or Paris