It was sometime in the middle of 1833 that Rev. J. M. Peck declared, “Chicago is destined to outstrip every other town in the State.” At that time, the population of the future metropolis was only 350! A hundred years later, in 1933, a pictorial map (first photo) was drawn to revisit those earlier days, when Chicago’s population was roughly 350, and highlight some scenes from 19th-century life. Walter H. Conley, an architect and draftsman spent two years sifting through local libraries and archives to bring the cartographic scene to life. An 86-year-old print of the illustration is currently for sale through Geographicus Rare Antique Maps. [Source: AtlasObscura.com]
Second photo: A map from 1933, depicting the Chicago of 1833. Courtesy of David Rumsey Map Collection/Public Domain