Chicago Area Aerials

[Dan Moore]

Thanks to Jeff Goldman I figured this out and its very cool.  Should be able to find just about every Chicago area course from 1938-1941.  

First you need to download the viewer that will let your browswer read the digitized pictures.  

Download the viewer using Internet Explorer here:

http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_download.php?detail=geo_expressview_plugin&platform=win

Once you have installed the viewer go to the interactive map here:

http://runoff.isgs.uiuc.edu/website/ilhap/viewer.htm

Use the zoom in tool to find the area you want to view.  You will need to zoom in several layers to find the squares which represent different photos.  Click the "view one photo" lighning bolt icon and click the square for the area you want to view.  An http address will appear below the map ending in .sid.  Copy and paste this address into your browser address area and hit go and the photo should load.  Use can then right click to find tools that will let you zoom and pan much like google maps or local live.  

[Eckstein]

Dan
For those of us without any computer skills can you post aerials of some of the better Chicago area courses??

[Craig Disher]

Dan,
I bypassed the viewer and just downloaded the pictures from the site. I could then view them with irfanview or photoshop and save them as jpgs.

These photos are from the Dept. of Agriculture survey that was done in between the mid-30s and early 50s. Incredibly, the original Cook County negatives that the Natl Archives had were destroyed and all that remains of them are small 35mm positive prints. The golf courses on those prints are about the size of a pinhead and when expanded showed almost no detail. Fortunately, Cook County or some other Illinois government entity saved a set or copied them and UI had the sense to digitize the negatives. The Archives should be doing this with the entire collection, which covers most of the US, but the thousands of rolls are just deteriorating at College Park MD or at a cold storage facility in Missouri.

[Bill_McBride]

Did Dallen take any golf course aerials in the Chicago area?

What's the website, Hagley something or other?  Matt Davenport sent me a couple of late 1930's photos of Pensacola CC a few years ago, happily they survived Hurricane Ivan.

[Eckstein]

Dan Moore
Did you have any luck finding the Langford aerials?? If possible could you post what you found??

Any Bendelow Jeff Goldman??

[Jeff Goldman]

Eck,

Sorry about that.  I will try to post some tonight (I at least have the South Course at Olympia Fields).

Jeff

[Scott_Burroughs]

Did you have any luck finding the Langford aerials?? Any Bendelow??

Eck,

In this aerial taken in 1938, you can see the original 4
courses at Olympia Fields at lower left.  Just to the northeast
is Flossmoor, and at upper right is Idlewild, of which Langford
did work there in the 30's and his bunkering is evident in the
photo (looks like some of Lawsonia-Links' bunkering from above):

[Dan Moore]

I'll put some up tonight.  The aerial of Olympia Fields shows golf holes everywhere.  

The Skokie CC aerial is from Nov. 1938 and looks like it shows the new Langford holes under construction with the lost Ross holes still in play.  

[Jeff Goldman]

Scott,

Thanks, that's the best one I have.  On Olympia Fields, you can see the cool bunker with the turf island to the right of the first hole on the North Course (top course, far left).  Course 1, now the South Course, is the one furthest to the lower left.  Steve Smyers made great use of this aerial, and one from 1948, in developing his plan.  The lower course in the middle was Course 2, the Willie Watson course (2 holes from there are now part of the South course), and the one to the far right is course 3, listed as a Watson/Bendelow course, with some revisions by Willie Park, and which had some really cool bunkering.  Course 3 was used as the match-play course in the 1925 PGA Championship.

Jeff

[Dan Moore]

Ok Mr. Eck per your request.  Aerials date from around 1938.  

Very interesting to compare to present day Google or live local aerial images.  

Chicago Golf Club





Skokie CC
Note the holes under construction at the lower left of course immediately to the left of the circle on the right.  Holes on top right later sold for housing.  





Glen View Club



Riverside CC
Langford design later altered by Killian Nugent who added several new holes in the vacant area on the upper right side of the river.

[Eckstein]

Scott B and Dan M
Thanks a bunch. I love looking at those old Chicago courses before the redesign disease took over. Langford is really cool. If you run across any more Langford or Bendelow please share it with us. What were the best courses in Chicago in 1939?? Westmoreland??

[Dan Moore]

Eck,

I agree with you on Langford.  Its very interesting to compare the bunkering at Chicago Golf to Langford's bunkering at Riverside.  There is a lot of similarity between Langford and Raynor such as with the wrap around bunkers behind greens which Langford used quite often on his push-upo greens.  

Also for those of you with Brad Klein's wonderful Donald Ross book take a look at the Skokie CC routings from Ross and Langford which let you see the work in progress on the new Skokie holes on the lower left of the picture and which Ross holes were eliminated.  

[Eckstein]

Dan Moore
I agree the Skokie aerial is really interesting, a golf course in transition. Did you find any more Langford or Bendelow aerials?? Park Ridge, Glen Oak, Acacia and Lake Shore would be pretty good or anything done by Colt and Alison.

[JR Potts]

Dan, where did you get these aerials?

[Dan Moore]

Ryan,

Jeff Goldman provided the lead to the aerials.

Check out post #26 above. I tried to explain how to download the viewer and access the aerials which are all online.  

Did you see the course I posted earlier today?  

If there is a course you are interested in send me an IM.  

Good luck.  

[Tim_Cronin]

Dan,
About the Medinah aerial:
There are few trees on the Lake Street area of the course because that was originally a farm (south of Itasca Road, which previously had cut through where the course was built).
Even more interesting is the presence of several of the original holes of Bendelow's 1920s design, which was revamped when land held by the founders on the interior of the club property was made available. See the two greens adjacent to each other almost on the southeast corner? Those were the fifth and seventh greens originally.
That is a heck of a find. The club, which has the original (and subsequent) master plan, doesn't have this aerial.
Nice going!

[T_MacWood]

I found this old thread...another example Dan's wonderful aerials. What caught by eye was Skokie. I was comparing the Langford drawing in the Ross book to this aerial and it appears the work may have been done in two stages, this being the second stage. Or perhaps Langford changed his plan. One major difference between this aerial and the drawing is the twisting water course...I wonder if some issues arose after the initial redesign and the stream was built to fix it.

It also interesting to compare the course today to this course and also to the Ross map (in the Ross book). The club appears to have restored a mix and match Skokie, some old Ross features, in fact a lot of Ross features and some Langford. I would have preferred the pure Langford version...it was considered one of his finest designs, if not his finest.