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IN MEMORIAM

CERA Director and Cartographer Dennis McClendon

On Thursday, August 8, 2024 CERA lost a wonderful member, current Director, Dennis McClendon who passed at the age of 67.  Dennis recently was a major contributor and cartographer to our highly acclaimed and latest book, Transit in the Triangle, Volume Two.

The excerpt  below is his Chicago Tribune Obituary.

Dennis McClendon OBITUARY

Cartographer Dennis McClendon, “Mr Downtown,” died of complications related to pancreatic cancer in the early morning of August 8, 2024. He was sixty-seven years old. Born in Texarkana, Ark., to Noble and Merida McClendon on July 23, 1957, Dennis had a brilliant mind and an avid curiosity about the world around him. He was a precocious boy who read everything he could get his hands on – cereal boxes, advertising mailings, railroad timetables – and informed himself about even the most arcane topics, laying the foundation for a life-long love of learning and knowledge.

While still in high school Dennis passed the FCC exam before he was even old enough to drive and became a radio disc jockey at KOSY-FM in Texarkana under the DJ name Mark Austin. He later worked as a volunteer disk jockey for CRIS Radio in Chicago, which provides daily readings of newspapers and periodicals for the visually impaired.

He graduated from Texas Senior High School in 1975 as a national merit scholar and was awarded a scholarship to Tulsa University, where he majored in urban studies. After completing his degree, he attended law school at the University of Texas in Austin and passed the Texas bar exam. His first job took him to Chicago, where he worked for Arthur Anderson accounting firm. It was there that he discovered a lifelong love for the city of Chicago.

“With the zeal of the converted,” as he put it, Dennis immersed himself in Chicago history, architecture and urban design. He bought an apartment in the South Loop when that section of downtown was still a neglected area, and played an active role in the South Loop Neighbors organization. He held many positions during his long tenure there, including president and vice president of planning and development. He became known as the face of the organization.

His work as a cartographer and designer has impacted generations of Chicago visitors and residents alike. He worked for the American Planning Association (APA) and helped produce their monthly publication. His work on maps for the magazine led to him establish his own company, Chicago CartoGraphics. Dennis created maps for many cities and other clients, including the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) and Chicago Transport Authority (CTA) and the Chicago Department of Transportation, where he designed the original Chicago Bike Map. He was a longtime member of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS), where he was founder and host of its annual “GeoDweeb Geopardy” competition.

As an expert in Chicago history, Dennis was a popular lecturer on a wide variety of topics, including railroad stations, bridges, World’s Fairs, mapmaking, and Burnham’s 1909 Plan for Chicago. He also maintained a formidable presence online, particularly on Reddit, where he posted under the screen name “MrDowntown.” He was known as a reliable source of information and expertise, and often provided concise, academically-sourced answers to settle debates on Chicago.... And he was one of the primary sources that local media often turned to, including WBEZ’s “Curious City” radio broadcast and WTTW’s “Ask Geoffrey” television program. In addition, his “Chicago In Maps” website has long been a trusted resource for historic map collections.

Dennis was extraordinarily kind and endlessly generous with his knowledge, seeming to know a little bit (or in most cases a lot) about everything. He loved Chicago, and was a certified tour guide and vice president of the Chicago Tour-Guide Professionals Association. Whenever he was out and about in the city, he would stop to offer assistance and give directions to anyone he encountered with a map in their hand and a puzzled look on their face.

Dennis was also a citizen of the world. An avid traveler, he visited more than 100 countries on every continent but Antarctica and shared this passion with his family and friends, encouraging them to travel often. An exceptional travel companion, he had a conversational knowledge of Spanish, German, and French, and had an enormous respect for other cultures and different ways of life. On his travels Dennis especially loved visiting cities around the world. As an enthusiastic aficionado of trains, he often took pictures of public transportation as well as outstanding examples of urban design, contributing many of his photos to dedicated websites. He was a member of the Chicago Map Society, the Central Electric Railfans Association, and a longtime mentor to members of the Chicago chapter of Young Professionals in Transportation.

Dennis was preceded in death by his father, Noble Lester McClendon. He is survived by his mother, Merida McClendon; sister Denise Carriveau and husband Louis; nephews David Carriveau and wife Katy, and Michael Carriveau; niece Sara Monfries and husband Nick.

A memorial is planned for 5:00 PM September 9th at Grace Place Episcopal Church, 637 S. Dearborn St., Chicago