[Worth Township Real Estate Atlas]

Rare midcentury real estate atlas covering part of Worth Township, southwest of Chicago.

This ‘Legal Descriptive Atlas’ was published in April of 1953 by West Chicago’s Sidwell Studios on behalf of Berg & Halvorsen, a Chicago real estate firm. A price sheet on the colorful index map of Cook County indicates the volume originally sold for $99 (for the screw-post leatherette edition) and was one of various issues covering the entire county.

This particular example is comprised of 73 folio pages that provide a descriptive overview of Worth Township; including the communities of Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Alsip, and Chicago Ridge. Each sheet has been revised to the late 1950s and presents a wealth of information on parcel sizes, property ownership, local infrastructure, transportation routes, and geographic features.

Various locations of interest include the Cal-Sag Channel, several country clubs, Saint Xavier University (Sisters of Mercy), and the Harlem Airport. Blocks of text on either side provide further details on the organization and history of various subdivisions, though the lack of manuscript updates indicates the atlas was lightly used over the course of its life.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine;