In 1829, the legislature appointed commissioners to locate a canal and layout the surrounding town. The commissioners employed James Thompson to survey and plat the town of Chicago, which at the time had a population of less than 100. Historians regard the August 4, 1830, filing of the plat as the official recognition of a municipality known as Chicago. Block 37 is one of the city's original 58 blocks in the layout of the town. Due to Block 37's central location in the Loop, between the State Street retail district, the city/county government complex, and the Randolph Street theater district, its history is a microcosm of the city's history.