NM Chicago, LLC - the city, block by block

Block surveys and neighborhood atlases, measured on the ground

We walk Chicago blocks with a tape and a field book, measure what stands, note what has changed since the last walk, and draw it down as plates a resident can read without training. The drafting room is at 657 W Fulton St in Fulton Market.

Plate 04 - Block 11769 0100200 ft
Quarter section, north face
An aerial plate of a quarter section, marked with block and face numbers before the field walk. The published plate is Plate 04, Fulton alley.

Read the survey index Learn how it works

Title block - sheet 01

Firm: NM Chicago, LLCDrafting room, Fulton Market
Plate no.: 04Block 11769, north face, W Fulton St
Surveyed by: E. BrookeField party of two, walked on foot
Drawn: Ink on plate stockLegend checked against the field book
Scale: 1 in. = 40 ftNo figure is scaled off a map
Last walk: 12 September 2024
Standing: DocumentaryNot a legal boundary survey

Revision table
Rev	Date	Note
A	14 May 2016	First walk. Fourteen structures noted on the face.
B	6 Aug 2020	Cornice lost at 663. Nine sash replaced.
C	12 Sep 2024	Repointing at 657 to 661. Rear alley gate replaced.

Two plates are published here in full: Plate 04 - Fulton alley and Plate 11 - Bungalow belt. Every other block in the index is held in the flat files at the drafting room.

Noted on every plate

Block faces
Setbacks and heights
Date stones
Alley dedications
Plat lines
Easements
Cornices and brick
Sash and dormers
Field books
Plate legends

Table 01

Survey index

Six blocks from the last four field seasons. A block is logged the first time it is walked; a plate is drawn only after it has been walked a second time, so that change can be separated from memory.

Blocks logged, 2022 to 2024
Block	Face	Structures	Last surveyed	Plate
11769	W Fulton St, north face and rear alley	14	12 Sep 2024	Plate 04
2408	N Kilbourn Ave, west face	22	3 May 2024	Plate 11
0917	S Morgan St, east face	9	21 Aug 2023	Plate 07
1652	W Lake St, south face	11	16 Jun 2023	Plate 06
3110	N Southport Ave, west face	17	4 Oct 2022	Plate 09
0428	S Canal St, east face	6	11 Apr 2022	Plate 02

Blocks are numbered as we log them, not as the city numbers them. Structures are counted as separate roofed buildings; a porch, a garage and a gate are noted but not counted.

Plate 04 Plate 11 What a block number means

Field method

How a block gets surveyed

Four steps, always in the same order. A block is not drawn until the field book is closed and the second walk has been compared with the first.

On the pavement
Walk the face

Two people, one tape, one field book. Every opening, cornice, step and gate is written down in order, starting at the corner lot and working inward. Nothing is photographed for the record; the note is the record.
With the tape
Measure what stands

Height to the cornice line, setback from the back of the walk to the front step, width of the face, and the depth of the lot where the alley gate allows it. Each figure is taken twice and written once.
At the table
Compare with the record

The recorded plat, the alley dedication and the previous plate go on the table together with the new field book. Differences are marked in the margin. They are not corrected and they are not argued with.
In ink
Draw the plate

Line weights first, then hatches, then lettering, then the legend. A plate is finished when a reader who has never stood on the block can follow every line without asking us a question.

Field party
Step 01 and 02
A surveyor at the instrument. On a block face the instrument is a tape, a level and a field book; the total station stays in the case unless a face is out of true.

What is in the field book
Column 1	Structure number, from the corner lot inward.
Column 2	Height to cornice, in feet and inches.
Column 3	Setback from the back of the walk.
Column 4	Material and bond, and the condition of the mortar.
Column 5	Date stone, if there is one, and whether it is legible.
Margin	Anything seen but not measured: a filled transom, a lost cornice, a replaced gate.

Standing of the record

We are not licensed surveyors. A plate from this office documents what stands on a block face. It does not fix a boundary, and it should not be used in a boundary dispute.

Table 02 - one block, two walks

Change log

Block 11769, W Fulton St north face, walked eight years apart. The left column is the 2016 plate; the right column is what stood on 12 September 2024.

Block 11769 - before and after
Item	BeforeWalked 14 May 2016	AfterWalked 12 Sep 2024
Cornice, 663	Pressed metal, painted, brackets intact.	Gone. A flat brick course laid to the parapet line.
Sash, 657 to 661	Wood, single glazed. Nine of fourteen original.	Vinyl replacement. Five of fourteen original.
Brick, 665	Common bond, unpainted, lime mortar.	Repointed, grey mortar, joints struck flush.
Alley gate, rear	Steel pipe gate, welded on site.	Panel gate, hung on new posts.
Date stone, 659	1908, legible.	1908, legible. No change.
Storefront, 667	Glass, transom lights intact.	Transom filled and panelled over.

Field book 24
The field book, open at the current block. Both walks are kept; the second is written in a new book, never over the first.

How to read a change

A change is not a fault. We write down what stands on the day of the walk and leave the judgement to the people who live on the block. If you know a date or a builder for any structure here, write to us with the plate number and we will add it as a revision.

Published plates

Two blocks, drawn in full

Each published plate carries its field table, its change notes and an excerpt from the legend. The rest of the index is held in the flat files and can be consulted at the drafting room.

A brick alley behind the block face — Plate 04 - Block 11769 0100200 ft
Fulton alley
The north face of W Fulton St and the rear alley behind it, including the alley dedication line and the gate at the rear of 661.

Open Plate 04

A Chicago bungalow with its date stone — Plate 11 - Block 2408 0100200 ft
Bungalow belt
Twenty-two bungalows on the west face of N Kilbourn Ave, with date stones read where the mortar has not covered them.

Open Plate 11

Key to the plates

Legend

Every plate carries its own legend, printed in the lower right corner. This is the house key: the same line weights, hatches and symbols are used on all of them.

Line weights

HeavyBlock boundary, taken from the recorded plat.
MediumStructure face, measured on the ground.
LightOpenings, cornices, steps, gates and drains.
DashedNot seen. Taken from record only.

Hatches

BrickCommon or face brick, cross-hatched.
FrameWood frame, single diagonal.
SolidStone or filled masonry.
StipplePaved ground: walk, drive or alley surface.

Symbols

Date stoneYear cut or cast on the face, where legible.
Alley gateGate across a dedicated alley.
ElevatedRail structure carried over the street.
UncertainVerify on site before relying on it.

Lettering

Plate numberCaps, upper left corner of the sheet.
Block numberAs logged by this office.
Face letterThe side of the street that was walked.
RevisionAmber, in the revision table only.

Sheet 01, lower right

The drafting room

Two desks, one long drawing table, four flat files and a wall of plates in Fulton Market. Visitors are welcome by arrangement; the field books come out of the drawer and go back the same day.

Address: 657 W Fulton St
Chicago, IL 60661, US
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time
Telephone: (847) 525-6556
Email: [email protected]
Contact: Elizabeth Brooke

Send a message Read about the office

Sheet 00 0100200 ft
Fulton Market district
Fulton Market, where the drafting room stands. The district is walked every spring; the warehouse faces change faster than anywhere else in the city.