Past Chicago
Historic Photos on the map
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Get happily lost in old Chicago. Explore thousands of historic photos on the map, from neighborhood streets to the 1893 World's Fair. Free, with no ads.
You know the street. You might not recognize the photograph.
Past Chicago puts thousands of historic photographs on a map of the city. Start with your neighborhood, follow the lakefront, or wander through the Loop. Tap a place to see its buildings and street scenes from years gone by.
Stop by Riverview Park or explore the 1893 World's Fair. Some places are instantly recognizable; others might have you checking the street signs.
Find your own way through the collection:
- Search for places and addresses, or use Locate Me to see what's nearby.
- Filter by year to explore a different era, then browse the available photographs at each location.
- Open a photograph full screen, swipe through the gallery, and zoom in for a closer look.
- Save places you'd like to revisit.
There's a little motion, too: watch a silent 1897 street scene filmed at State and Madison, right on the map where it happened.
Every photograph includes its archive source, credit and available date information. Open the original archive record to keep looking. Approximate locations are labeled, with notes to help make sense of streets and addresses that have changed.
The entire collection is free. No ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases.
Made for iPhone and iPad. Location permission is optional, so you can explore Chicago from anywhere.
TERMS OF USE (EULA)
https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy
https://pastchicago.com/privacy
Past Chicago is back, rebuilt from the ground up for iPhone and iPad. The map is still where it all starts.
- Explore a new map with thousands of historic photographs, from neighborhood streets and the lakefront to Riverview Park and the 1893 World's Fair.
- Use Locate Me to find your position and browse nearby places. Location permission is optional, and you can explore from anywhere.
- Search for places and addresses, filter by year, and save the spots you want to revisit.
- Open photographs full screen, swipe through each location's gallery, and pinch to zoom in on the details. Browse each place's photo collection by date.
- Watch Chicago in motion in a silent 1897 street film shot at State and Madison.
- Follow archive links for original records, credits and rights information. Approximate locations are labeled, with notes about historical addresses where available.
New photographs and corrections can arrive without an app update.
The whole collection is free, with no ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases.
The developer, Boxcue Technologies LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Usage Data
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Boxcue Technologies LLC
- Size
- 9.8 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 18.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 18.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 2.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Age Rating
13+
- 13+
- Infrequent
Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References
Contains
Advertising
- Copyright
- © 2026 Boxcue Technologies LLC