Seeing Chicago The Gray Line

See Chicago at Her Best on These Gray Line Personally Conducted Tours

This charming abstract map of Chicago was published around 1935 by The Gray Line, a nationwide tour bus operator. Only those routes on which Gray Line tours are given are shown within the image, sacrificing geographic accuracy and overall utility in favor of a heavily stylized, Depression-era view of the Windy City. Amusing vignettes showcase many of Chicago’s most notable attractions, from the Union Stockyards to Lincoln Park. Less attractive areas include the Ghetto and Hoboland, both west of the river.

An outdated Michigan Boulevard (with Boulevard Link Bridge), the ‘Rosenwald Art Museum’ (MSI) and misplaced State Street Shopping District reflect somewhat odd elements – perhaps the mapmaker was not intimately familiar with the city. Elsewhere in the brochure, several different Gray Line tours are promoted with brief descriptions, rate information, and photographs. Of interest is the Chicago by Night Tour, “the Greatest sight-seeing trip in America.”

The map is one of several similar variants that were issued by the Gray Line (each showing a different color scheme). Though this example is undated, the presence of the Brookfield Zoo in Tour No. 7 indicates it was issued after the attraction opened in 1934.