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Untitled
(Chicago Dock & Canal Co. with proposed Michigan Canal and Chicago Land Owners)
By:
Anonymous (Shoreline established by Conally Engineers)
Date:
Unknown (Shoreline established Aug 6, 1868)
Dimensions:
13.75 x 17.2 inches (35 x 43.7 cm)
This is a manuscript map with many layers centered on the Chicago Dock and Canal Company
with a primary focus on future plans for a canal extending off the east end of Michigan street.
As noted in the script,
“Lots and Blocks shaded Red belong to the Chicago Dock and Canal
Company.”
The plan calls for a 300 x 500 ft. outer basin at the end of what would become the
North Water Street Pier. The canal would extend almost as far as St. Clair Street ending at the
junction of two proposed railroads that are drawn in pencil. The railroad coming from the south
would originate in the Illinois Central rail yard and cross the Chicago River via a proposed
swing bridge (also illustrated in pencil).
The original layer of this map shows in brown ink, the geography of the area at the time the map
was produced. This includes the delineation of the shore line up to a lighthouse located within
lots 18 & 19 of the Chicago Dock and Canal Company. It also presents every street, lot, and
important Chicago land owners at the time of production. Shoreline land owners include Walter
Loomis Newberry, William Butler Ogden, Jones, and Cyrus Hall McCormick.
Though no buildings are included on the map, it should be noted that Cyrus McCormick had
established a reaper factory on several of the lots in the lower left portion of the map. The
position of his reaper factory illustrates the importance of Chicago’s geographic location for
industrial production. The city had the best water transportation from the east over the Great
Lakes for his raw materials, as well as railroad connections to the farther west where his
customers would be.
The third layer within the map is drawn in pencil. It includes proposed rail lines, and most
notably, a second canal extending off of Indiana Street that would never come to fruition. This
second canal would create a second pier off of Illinois Street where most of the land was already
owned by the Chicago Dock and Canal Company. Plans for the pier would include an extension
out into Lake Michigan that would create 20 to 24 new lots. A more detailed proposal for this
pier and canal is indicated in two other maps within this collection.
Condition:
Manuscript map on thin paper with contemporary hand coloring and annotations in
pencil and ink. Minor wear at outer fringes with one small separation at left center.