The Prudential Building at Randolph East of Michigan

“The Most Dramatic View in Chicago” [verso]

Upon its completion in 1955, the Prudential Building in Chicago’s Loop offered one of the most beautiful (and highest) views of the city’s commercial center. It’s replicated here in sketch form in its second edition, published as a souvenir around 1963.

Over sixty buildings are individually numbered and illustrated in a 360-degree circle, with Prudential Plaza planted firmly in the center. The Chicago Civic Center and the Federal Building are both shown as under construction, helping to narrow the publication date. A group of facts on the verso notes an interesting variety of building statistics (WGN’s antenna measures 925 ft. – the tallest point in the city) and encourages the audience to see it themselves. “It is worth a trip to Chicago just to see the view from the Observation Deck of the Prudential Building.”

Though the map is uncredited, an earlier edition (c. 1957) is attributed to Rand McNally, and thus it’s likely the firm created this example as well. See here for the prior version.