Rand McNally Detailed 1924 Auto Trails Map Chicago and Vicinity

A road trip around Chicagoland during the mid-1920s.

This wonderfully detailed road map of the Chicago region, encompassing parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan, was published in 1924 by Rand McNally & Company. Distributed as a promotional premium, this example features a front cover indicating the piece was issued compliments of Griptite, manufacturers of a popular period brake tonic. Text on the back cover reads, “That the brakes are, by far, the most important part of an automobile, a moment’s reflection will convince anyone, who will take the trouble to think about the matter at all.”

The map offers an engaging window into the world of motorized recreation during the height of the Prohibition Era. It captures an era when Al Capone was aggressively consolidating power within the Chicago Outfit, bootleggers shared unpaved county roads with horse-drawn wagons, and city dwellers sought weekend refuge in the region’s burgeoning lake resorts and rural retreats. To assist these early motorists, several distinct line styles denote the quality of road surfaces, which vary wildly from paved routes (solid lines) to dirt tracks or sections actively under construction. Steamship routes, steam railroads, and electric interurban lines are also noted, providing a comprehensive overview of a complex, multi-modal transportation network.

Numerals are applied to both nascent state highways and the chaotic network of privately sponsored auto trails; the confusing overlap between these competing systems would ultimately force the introduction of the standardized U.S. Numbered Highway System just two years later, in 1926. The center of the sheet features a detailed inset highlighting the Parks and Boulevard System of Chicago, while the verso provides a matching, comprehensive overview of the entire state of Illinois.