Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis

by Harold M. Mayer, Richard C. Wade

This is the story of Chicago and how it grew. In a little over a century it rose from a mere frontier outpost to become one of the great cities of the world. No single book can possibly encompass the immense scope of this development or convey the endless diversity of the life of Chicago's people. But with the help of the camera it is possible to capture many dimensions of this extraordinary story.

This volume, however, which comprises over 1,000 pictures and 50 maps, tries to do more than show physical development—it attempts to suggest how the city expanded and why it looks the way it does. Because it asks different questions, this book differs markedly from other "pictorial histories" of American cities. Instead of emphasizing society and customs, this volume deals with the physical conditions of life. In place of the conventional interest in "founding fathers" and leading families, it is more concerned with street scenes and ordinary people. Without neglecting downtown, it also reaches into the residential areas and neighborhood shopping centers. Moreover, this volume is concerned with suburbs and "satellite" towns as well as the historic city.

" Growth of a Metropolis is an incredible book. Like its subject it is excessive, and nothing succeeds like excess. It is handsomely designed, with a thousand photographs that document the physical growth and the spatial patterns of the city. . . . A dimensionalism comes through that no other city has. Carl Sandburg sang it in his poetry, and the book does more to grasp it . . . than any other book I have seen."—Hugh Newell Jacobson, New Republic

Genres: History, Nonfiction

511 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Leilani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good look at the City of Chicago and the great history. A lot of photos!

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible compilation of historic photos, sketches, and maps; okay history of Chicago. The majority of space on the page in this book is dedicated to photos and maps. The actual text about the history is a bit of a slog to read cover to cover -- it doesn't flow super well and it's a bit dry. But the photos, sketches, and maps really bring the history to life.

There's so many good maps and photos in this book. To focus on a few:
* The map of the rail system of Chicago in 1871 hammers home how critical railroads were to the city's success, and shows how many of the surrounding suburbs began as RR stops.
* The map of the area destroyed by the Great Fire of 1871 alongside the photos of the destruction clarifies the scope of destruction.
* Photos showing the city grow taller and taller over the course of the book are very cool.
* A sketch of the cutaway view of an operation of a cable car is suuuper cool. I didn't realize how they worked (i.e., by clamping and unclamping a cable constantly moving, powered by a stationary steam engine) until this.
* An annexation map up to 1893 helped me understand the timeline of the city's explosive expansion from 1889-93.
* A map of Mass Transportation Lines in 1915 amazed the transit enthusiast in me at how fleshed-out the city's mass transit system was by then with El lines and streetcar lines.
* An aerial photo of Downtown Chicago in 1936 looks shockingly modern with skyscrapers filling the frame.
* The appearance of cars in the photos starting in the 1910s filled me with a dread of "oh here we go...". I then watched in horror as photos parking lots, highways and interchanges, and low-density suburban sprawl begin lining the pages over the next several decades, sucking the vitality out of the central city.
* A map of locational patterns of ethnic groups in 1960 is fascinating to see where different groups of immigrants clustered; same with the "Negroes in Chicago, 1920-65" map, although this one is accompanied by another sense of dread knowing that this map shows the growing ghettos on the south and west sides enforced by violence and overt discrimination.

I wish this book had been written more recently because the book finishes in the year of its publication, 1969. And I wouldn't read it cover to cover again. But I'd probably return to it for some of its beautiful photos and maps.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text book for History of Chicago class. Still have it. Won't let it go.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing historic pictures and very good narrative history.

[Stella]

Pictographic history of Chicago. Very interesting but not necessarily helpful in my research project.