“If Dennis McClendon noticed someone lost in the Loop, he’d ask if they needed directions. He might even pull a little map out from his pocket to pass along. It was a thrill for him — like a chocolatier giving a kid a piece of chocolate.
“What the course-corrected visitor wouldn’t have known was that the mensch with the map was a highly skilled cartographer — Chicago’s Michael Jordan of geographical design.
“For years, he was the creator of one of the most iconic and useful guides in Chicago history: the color-coded map of the CTA’s L lines.
“His vast output also included the Chicago Bike Map, a series of maps for the American Institute of Architecture guide to Chicago architecture, historical maps for ‘The Encyclopedia of Chicago’ and maps for dozens of transit agencies across the country.
“Mr. McClendon, who died Aug. 8 at 67 from complications of cancer, also was part of an elite class of Chicago history buffs — nerds, as he might say.
“‘If you’re looking for a Chicago fact, no matter how small, it’s always like: ‘Have you tried calling Dennis?’ ‘ said WTTW-TV host Geoffrey Baer, who occasionally tapped McClendon to explain to viewers some obscure detail about city streets or infrastructure for his ‘Hidden Chicago’ series.
“‘Dennis is about as close as it comes to being the human form of Google,’ said Tim Samuelson, who retired a few years ago as the city of Chicago’s cultural historian. ‘He had the ability to remember, recall and convey things very accurately and very quickly in the most friendly, matter-of-fact way.’
“Mr. McClendon lectured often on maps and history — his subjects including world’s fairs and Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan for Chicago — at conferences, universities and at the Newberry Library. In one lecture, he told his audience that a map can be elevated into a “symbol of a city that some love enough to carry the diagram around on the ultimate mobile device” — a line he delivered with an accompanying tongue-in-cheek slideshow image of a foot with a tattoo of his CTA map.
“‘There wasn’t anything he couldn’t spontaneously give a tour about, he was so knowledgeable,’ said Donna Primas, former president of the Chicago Tour-Guide Professionals Association.
“When dignitaries would come to town, he’d be the go-to guy that Choose Chicago’ — the agency that promotes Chicago as a tourism destination — ‘would tap to take them on tours,’ she said, noting that Mr. McClendon previously served as vice president of the association.” (Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/24/24)
Read the full obituary at Chicago Sun-Times
- CTA L mapmaker Dennis McClendon, who found a calling in cartography, dead at 67; He also was a Chicago history expert tapped by WTTW-Channel 11 host Geoffrey Baer for answers. As a mapmaker, his vast output also included creating the Chicago Bike Map. His last project was creating the maps of the Near West Side that were provided to all delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/24/24
- Dennis McClendon, whose design work includes color-coded CTA train map, dies at 67, Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune 9/4/24
- Dennis McClendon Obituary, Chicago Tribune, 8/24/24