San Francisco via Reno to Chicago

San Francisco to Chicago, with a stopover at Harold’s in Reno!

This fun road map follows the route of the newly developed Interstate 80 (though most of it was still under construction) from San Francisco, California to Chicago, Illinois. Distances between points are provided and numerous other connecting highways are noted, along with local attractions. The pictorial topography provides an illustrated transition from the Mountain West to the Ohio River Valley.

According to a text box in the center, the map was ‘prepared in cooperation with various Chambers of Commerce. This strip map points out the logical western routes connecting San Francisco and Reno with major northeastern cities.”

Many of these cities are represented with skyline vignettes, though none so prominent as Reno, Nevada. This was home of Harold’s Club, a casino and copyright holder/distributor of the map. It was designed by Gerald Eddy and originally issued as early as 1959 to promote the upcoming Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley (labeled within the image), as well as Harold’s Club. This is a slightly later issue, published in Reno in 1961.