These files are scans of authentic antique and contemporary "L"^TM maps from throughout the century. Just click on a name to see a large image of the map, cover, or inside booklet pages.

Some files are quite large, between 1 and 2 MB, to retain resolution and readability, so they may take time to download. Some browsers may have difficulty viewing the larger images. If you have trouble viewing any of the maps in your browser, we suggest downloading and viewing them offline in some other viewer (such as Photoshop, JPEGview, or Photo Editor) rather than viewing them online.

For those users with slower connections or who do not wish to wait for these to download, we offer lower resolution verions of most of our larger map files. Although these are less reabable, they still give a good idea of what the maps look like.

		Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad
		1898
		• Cover (196k) • Pamphlet Detail: Route and Rding Information (336k) • Metropolitan Elevated Map (1.5MB) [Low resolution (460k)] • Loop Map (544k)
		None

		Chicago Elevated Railways
		1913
		• Cover (168k) • System Map (276k)
		Issued to announce universal transfers, which took effect November 3, 1913

		J.P. Shealy Street Guide
		1925
		• Cover (68k) • System Map (336k)
		Map of the Chicago Rapid Transit and North Shore Line systems. Map shows the Niles Center (Skokie) branch under construction.

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		1926
		• System Map (280k)
		None

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		early 1933
		• Cover (112k) • System Map (592k)
		Depicts the system as it had appeared since 1930, when the Westchester branch reached 22nd/Mannheim. Unlike other CRT maps, this edition includes brief service descriptions.

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		mid-1934
		• Cover (156k) • System Map (768k) • Pamphlet Detail - Pass Info and Loop Map (152k) • Pamphlet Detail - World's Fair Map (144k)
		Published for the Century of Progress (1933 World's Fair); features the motor coach connection from Cermak Road to the fair, begun June 2, 1934.

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		1938
		• Cover (196k) • System Map (640k)
		None

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		1942
		• Cover (56k) • System Map - North Side (708k) • System Map - South Side (616k) • Loop Map (412k) • Pamphlet Detail - Travel Times (72k) • Pamphlet Detail - Transfer Info (64k)
		Map has several war bonds advertisements.

		Chicago Rapid Transit
		1943
		• Cover (56k) • System Map (940k)
		The last map published by CRT before the Chicago Transit Authority took over in 1947. Shows a detailed map of the subway in an expanded downtown inset that includes the Near North and Near South Sides.

		Rand McNally Street Guide
		1944
		• Cover (92k) • System Map (468k) • Information page 1 (432k) • Information page 2 (180k)
		Includes detailed information on how to ride the elevated, including route descriptions, stopping patterns, and hours of operation. Map shows the newly-opened State Street Subway.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		1954
		• Cover (40k) • CTA System Map (1.7MB) [Low resolution (420k)]
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		1957
		• Cover (56k) • CTA System Map (1.2MB) [Low resolution (280k)]
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		January 1965
		• Cover (84k) • "L" System Map (112k)
		Skokie Swift: "The Commuter's Friend" was the fourth in a series of progress reports published on the Skokie Swift demonstration project. Map shows the Skokie Swift's relation to the rest of the "L"TM system.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		1965
		• Cover (52k) • CTA System Map (1.3MB) [Low resolution (216k)]
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		October 1970
		• Cover (60k) • CTA System Map (1.5MB) [Low resolution (328k)] • "L" System Map (192k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, etc. (268k)
		Includes newly-opened Dan Ryan and Kennedy routes. CTA® system map adopted one- and two-letter abbreviations for routes (i.e. "JH" for Jackson Park-Howard), though it would prove to be short-lived. Note ad for the #40 O'Harexpress bus extension route from Jefferson Park to the airport.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		May 1975
		• Cover (72k) • CTA System Map (1.3MB) [Low resolution (336k)] • "L" System Map (176k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, etc. (268k)
		"L"TM system map adopted one- and two-letter abbreviations for routes.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		Winter-Spring 1981
		• Cover (56k) • CTA System Map (1.5MB) [Low resolution (336k)] • Downtown Detail (264k)
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		1985
		• Cover (60k) • CTA System Map (1.5MB) [Low resolution (256k)] • Downtown Detail (228k)
		Map includes the new O'Hare extension and was the first to color-code the lines (although color names for the lines would not be adopted until 1993). "A" and "B" stations are no longer represented be triangles and squares; all stops are represented by circles.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		March 1991
		• Cover (76k) • CTA System Map (includes downtown inset, route information, and more) (2.3MB) [Low resolution (376k)] • Pamphlet Detail: Accessible Services (100k)
		First map issued after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, outlining CTA's® accessible services on the rail and bus systems (see detail above).

		Chicago Transit Authority
		July 1995
		• Cover (80k) • CTA System Map (1.2MB) [Low resolution (224k)] • Downtown Detail (268k) • "L" System Map (188k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, etc. (408k)
		Green Line appears on the map only as a dashed line, as it is closed for renovation.

		Chicago Transit Authority
		January 1997
		• Cover (72k) • CTA System Map (1.2MB) [Low resolution (224k)] • Downtown Detail (296k) • "L" System Map (176k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, Service Changes, etc. (272k)
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		Spring-Summer (March) 1999
		• Cover (84k) • CTA System Map (1.3MB) [Low resolution (252k)] • Downtown Detail (364k) • "L" System Map (180k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, etc. (248k)
		None

		Regional Transportation Authority
		2000
		• Cover (171k) • Six-County Regional System Map (1.4MB) [Low resolution (323k)] • Chicago System Map (1.5MB) [Low resolution (331k)] • Chicago Downtown Detail (636k)
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		Summer (May) 2001
		• Cover (64k) • CTA System Map (1.1MB) [Low resolution (156k)] • Downtown Detail (448k) • "L" System Map (300k)
		None

		Chicago Transit Authority
		Fall (September) 2003
		• Cover (111k) • CTA System Map (2.1MB) [Low resolution (137k)] • Downtown Detail (691k) • "L" System Map (250k) • Train Information: Routes, Fares, etc. (636k)
		Includes revised lakefront express bus routes, revised Evanston bus routes, and the first new, accessible Douglas stations (54/Cermak and Kostner)