1920s Transit Posters

During the 1920s, the Chicago Rapid Transit Company commissioned the city's finest graphic artists to produce advertising posters that encouraged Chicagoans to use rapid transit for more than commuting to work. The images produced beckoned Chicagoans to the city's parks, museums and other urban spots, as well as to more bucolic destinations beyond the city limits. Curiously, almost none of the posters actually featured the "L" itself, only scenic views of the destinations. Although there seem to be no records of precisely how many posters were produced, what they advertised, and what images they consisted of, researchers think approximately 160 posters were produced for the Insull lines between 1921 and 1929.

To check out some of these and other vintage Chicago railroad posters -- both reproduction and authentic -- check out Poster Plus .

For an excellent overview of the whole series of posters, not only for the rapid transit but for the other Chicago area Insull electric railways as well, see the article "A True Visionary Gives Chicago A Landmark Branding Campaign Circa 1920-30" by J.J. Sedelmaier in Print magazine.

Below is a sampling of the posters created for the "L" lines. To see a larger view of a poster, click on the poster's title.

"Boul Mich" by the Elevated Line Rocco D. Navigato In this image, Navigato depicted North Michigan Avenue, which was apparently dubbed "Boul Mich" in the 1920. "Wacker Drive" by the Rapid Transit Lines Rocco D. Navigato Navigato presents Wacker Drive in a similar manner as his earlier "Boul Mich" poster. "Beaches" by the Elevated Lines Arthur A. Johnson Johnson depicted the North Side beaches in this sunny image. Larger posters, like this one, were printed in two pieces and pasted together. There is an upper portion of this poster that is missing. The poster dates from circa 1924. "University of Chicago" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson Hanson depicted the gothic charms of the University of Chicago's campus. This poster is also missing its upper half. "University of Illinois School of Medicine" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson Hanson's view of the University of Illinois's Near West Side medical school in snowy winter sets it apart from the other city images, which usually depict warm weather scenes. "Northwestern University" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson Hanson's view of Northwestern University's Near North Side campus. "Chicago Temple" by the Chicago Rapid Transit Rocco D. Navigato The steeple of the Chicago Temple, a combination church/office building, soared above its Loop neighbors in Rocco D. Navigato's design. "Chicago's Beautiful Churches" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson Oscar Rabe Hanson highlighted the neogothic architecture of the city's churches. "Art Institute" by the Elevated Lines Willard Fredrick Elmes Elms portrayed one of the city's most well-known and beloved symbols: an Art Institute lion. "The Parks" by the Elevated Lines Urgelles This serene poster encouraged urbanites to visit the city's parks. "Washington Park" by the Elevated Lines Rocco D. Navigato Navigato presented Washington Park's lily pad lagoon in this 1923 design. "The German Building" by the Chicago Rapid Transit Arthur A. Johnson By the 1920s, the German Building, originally the German pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, was a popular Jackson Park restaurant. It was destroyed by fire in 1925. "Avoid Street Congestion" Arthur A. Johnson "Avoid Street Congestion" was the only poster that actually depicted the "L" itself. The posters made in this program for the elevated, North Shore Line, and South Shore Line rarely showed the trains of the carriers, except on a few posters. The version of the poster shown here is a reprint done for the Loop Centennial and Chicago Transit Authority by Poster Plus . The original, of course, did not mention the CTA ® ; The bottom originally read "Rapid Transit Lines, Fast...Reliable". "Evanston Lighthouse" by the Elevated Lines Ervine Metzl This poster, designed in 1923, depicts the Grosse Point Lighthouse in northern Evanston, a landmark in the north Chicago suburb. "Wooded Island Jackson Park" by the Elevated Lines Datus Myers This poster, designed circa 1924, shows a couple canoeing in one of Jackson Park's lagoon, with a bridge to the Wooded Island overhead. The Wooded Island is a remnant of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, held in the park. "Field Museum" by the Elevated Lines Ervine Metzl Several different advertisements -- some large-scale posters, some smaller prints -- were designed to advertise the Field Museum. This one, designed circa 1924, depicts a colorful toucan, promoting the museum's wildlife exhibits. "Field Museum" by Rapid Transit Oscar Rabe Hanson This Field Museum poster, dating from circa 1925, shows a python, promoting the museum's wildlife exhibits. "Field Museum" by Rapid Transit Oscar Rabe Hanson The Field Museum also advertised its anthropological and cultural exhibits. This poster, designed circa 1925, depicts African Jewelry. "Field Museum" by Rapid Transit Oscar Rabe Hanson This circa 1925-vintage advertisement for the Field Museum shows a Chinese Censer, one of the museum's many anthropological and cultural exhibits. "Field Museum" by Chicago Rapid Transit Roy Thompson, for the Research Class American Academy of Art Chicago This advertisement for the Field Museum depicts a crane looking down on a child in a wagon with a doll. Measuring 12" x 9", this was one of the smaller prints made to advertise the museum and "L". This poster was supposed to be published to put in the Chicago School system to encourage the kids to go to the museum; it is unclear if it was ever so used. It may have also been posted inside railcars. The image shows the original pencil outline and the finished watercolor artwork. "Field Museum" by the Elevated Lines Lawrence E. Waters, for the Research Class American Academy of Art Chicago Another of the smaller 12" x 9" 4-color prints, this advertisement shows an elephant and a monkey with children watching, along with monkeys in the border near the top and penguins in the border at the bottom. This poster was supposed to be published to put in the Chicago School system to encourage the kids to go to the museum; it is unclear if it was ever so used. It may have also been posted inside railcars. The image shows the original pencil outline and the finished watercolor artwork. "The Peristyle North End of Grant Park" by the Elevated Lines Ervine Metzl Metzl represented the Peristyle, a Classical colonnade at the north end of Grant Park at Michigan and Randolph built in 1917, in this 1921 poster. The original Peristyle, a distinctive lakefront attraction, was demolished in 1953, but a replica was built in the same general location was part of the Millennium Park improvements in 1998-2004. "Chicago Civic Opera" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson This poster, dating from circa 1924, advertises the rapid transit's service to the Chicago Civic Opera, the predecessor to today's Chicago Lyric Opera. The poster depicts an opera performance, with a knight in front of an Egyptian monument. "Logan Square Monument" by the Elevated Lines Oscar Rabe Hanson The Logan Square Monument, a classical pillar topped by a majestic eagle, was depicted by Hanson in this 1923 poster. The monument was located in its namesake square, at the intersection of Kedzie, Milwaukee, and Logan Blvd., at the end of the Northwest branch of the Metropolitan Division. "Fountain of the Great Lakes Grant Park" by the Elevated Lines Arthur A. Johnson Johnson depicted the Fountain of the Great Lakes, a fountain sculpture in Grant Park, in this 1924 poster. The Fountain of the Great Lakes" , a bronze work of art created between 1907-1913 , was created by famed scultor Lorado Taft in response to Daniel Burnham's complaint at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 that the sculptors charged with ornamenting the fairgrounds failed to produce anything that represented the great natural resources of the west, especially the Great Lakes. The fountain depicts five women arranged so that the water flows through them in the same way water passes through the Great Lakes.