Chicago Geography

Click on one of the numbered sections of the map of Chicago below to get information about that area and how it pertains to Tunnel Vision.

(original map taken from http://www.mapquest.com)

Also, for more information on Chicago geography and landmarks, the official web portal of Chicago contains lots of good information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The Loop. The Loop is the main business district of Chicago; in fact, it is what most people think of when they think of Downtown Chicago. It is bounded by Wacker St. and the Chicago River on the North and West, Lake Michigan on the East, and Roosevelt Rd. on the South. The Loop plays an enormous role in Tunnel Vision: it is where Warshawski's old building, the Pulteney, is located. Thus, it is also the location of the tunnels into which Vic ventures.

2. Kenwood District. The Kenwood district is a suburban area renowned for its wealthy residents and opulent residences. [9] Located near Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, it is where the wife-beating, daughter-abusing jurist Fabian Messenger lives, thus making it of particular import in the novel. It is here that V.I. attends the cocktail party at the beginning of the novel, witnesses Fabian's abuse of his family, and finds the murder weapon: Fabian's bloodied baseball bat.

3. GantAg. Obviously, the GantAg compound (a fictional location, unlike the others mentioned on this page) is not in the city of Chicago itself, but rather somewhere west of the city. It is here that the novel reaches its climax. Vic confronts the "three musketeers," the co-conspirators Blakely, Gantner, and Heccomb, and exposes their wrongdoing.

4. Vic's Neighborhood. Vic lives somewhere on Racine Avenue near 47th St. This area is certainly not glamorous like the Kenwood District, but it is not a ghetto either. It is here, in her apartment in fact, where Vic is mugged by Anton.