# Large map of Chicago??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879 "2011-09-01T20:09:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ScatteredFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@ScatteredFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScatteredFrog)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/1 "2011-09-01T20:09:43Z")
So…I’m looking for a pretty no-frills, non-artsy poster-sized map of Chicago. Doesn’t need to have the all the streets there; just the arterial roads are fine. Anybody know where I can get one or have one made up for a reasonable price?? The purpose is basically to map out some business locations with pushpins…Yes, there’s Google Maps, but we’re looking for something physical…like at least 36 x 24, the bigger the better… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/2 "2011-09-02T14:40:44Z")
I bought a big, two-sided map years ago that fits your bill. The kind that you can never fold up properly again. One side was the city with all the streets; the other side was the metro area with major streets. I don’t remember where I got it, but it wasn’t anyplace exotic. Walgreen’s or Barnes & Noble, probably. (Back when our planet used to have bookstores.) ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/3 "2011-09-03T02:13:40Z")
> [@ScatteredFrog](#): > > So…I’m looking for a pretty no-frills, non-artsy poster-sized map of Chicago. Doesn’t need to have the all the streets there; just the arterial roads are fine. Anybody know where I can get one or have one made up for a reasonable price?? The purpose is basically to map out some business locations with pushpins…Yes, there’s Google Maps, but we’re looking for something physical…like at least 36 x 24, the bigger the better… [This](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.flaxartandframe.com/site/pics/640/53575/210424/282347/Chicago2nd2n.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flaxartandframe.com/site/epage/53575_640.htm&usg=__UOdGfrC48zDhqW6X18nEDsrNBlQ=&h=324&w=233&sz=73&hl=en&start=12&zoom=1&tbnid=CJHSmzNthDlsXM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=85&ei=zYxhTr32IKj40gHv6ozxDw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dchicago%2Bneighborhoods%2Bposter%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1) map is a rather nice map of the Chicago neighborhoods. The arterial roads are labeled fairly legibly. It’s a little artsy, but it’s the best poster-sized map with the main roads labeled I’m aware of. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Freakin\_Back\_Is\_Killing\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@My\_Freakin\_Back\_Is\_Killing\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Freakin_Back_Is_Killing_Me)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/4 "2011-09-03T03:17:27Z")
I also found this: [Rand McNally Chicago Regional Wall Map](http://store.randmcnally.com/rand-mcnally-chicago-regional-wall-map.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/5 "2011-09-03T03:56:21Z")
Office Depot, bookstores, and some supermarkets should have a folded map from Rand McNally or AMC. At the Suburban Map Store in Elmhurst, you can probably get one that’s rolled. They’d love to mount or frame it for you. Pretty much everything that’s in print can be ordered from [maplink.com](http://maplink.com) Online you can order a [custom map based on the Rand McNally street atlas.](http://customview.randmcnally.com/) Or you can have [me](http://www.chicagocarto.com) make a custom one for you, very high quality, for about $20/square foot. I do a lot of the Chicago maps you probably already know: the CTA map, Downtown Plus, the city bikemap, the city landmarks map, Concierge Preferred, Chicago Marathon, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/6 "2011-09-03T20:44:55Z")
The Chicago Tribune offered a free map of Chicago a few years ago (well, maybe more than a few). It was large and comprehensive – one of the few maps that had the entire city on one side. I still have mine in the glove box and I’m on my third car since I got it. You might want to try contacting them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/7 "2011-09-03T21:32:43Z")
Alas, the Tribune Chicagoland map hasn’t been published for a decade or more. For the last 10-15 years the city side was the Rand McNally map, but with the whole city on one side of the paper. You see them on eBay sometimes. The AAA Chicago Motor Club offerings might meet your needs. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/large-map-of-chicago/594879/8 "2011-09-11T19:03:34Z")
ADC is our go-to company for local and regional maps. Here’s their [homepage](https://www.universalmap.com/c-9-wall-maps.aspx)so you can browse, and [here’s](https://www.universalmap.com/pc-8381-352-chicago-il-metro-wall-map-railed.aspx)a sample of Chi-town. They’re wall sized, so you can find anything at a glance.