Embassy of the United States of America U.S.

Chicago, Illinois: Metropolis on the Great Lakes

CHICAGO

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he third-largest in the by the Potawatomi tribe. In 1674, settlements, soon became the United States, Chicago is French Jesuit missionaries and world’s fastest-growing city. the unofficial capital of the explorers Louis Joliet and Père T Milestones in the city’s history American Midwest, rooted in the Marquette spent the winter on include: Industrial Revolution that trans- the site of the future metropo- formed the country into a manu- lis. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, • 1837 — Chicago is incorporated facturing powerhouse as urban of African and French descent, as a city. centers welcomed new immigrant became the first non-indigenous • 1848 — The Chicago Board of populations. In the early 20th resident in the 1780s. In 1833, the Trade, the world’s oldest futures century, the city became famous of Chicago was organized and options exchange, opens. for the style of blues music devel- with a population of 200. oped by its African-American • 1871 — The Great Chicago Fire Sited on the shores of Lake residents. kills hundreds and destroys about Michigan and linked by canals 9 square kilometers, but spurs and waterways to the Mississippi Then and Now a massive rebuilding campaign River, Chicago, the trading and using steel frames and plate glass. Before European traders and set- transportation hub connecting tlers arrived, the area around the eastern United States and • 1872 — Chicago’s Montgomery Chicago was inhabited primarily its ever-expanding westward Ward & Company establishes the first mail-order business. Chicago, Illinois

• 1884 — The world’s first sky- scraper, the Home Insurance Building Company, is built.

The People Chicago is diverse: 45 percent white, 32.9 percent African-American and 28.9 percent identifying as Hispanic or Latino. The city’s African-American population Bagpipers at an annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago. ©Shutterstock.com is the third-largest among U.S. cities, after and Atlanta. It is also home to the third-largest South • 1893 — The Ferris wheel makes and athletes. Michael Jordan led Asian population in U.S. cities, after New its international debut at the the Chicago Bulls to six National York City and San Francisco. Chicago’s Chicago World’s Fair. Basketball Association champi- Polish immigrants make up the largest onships between 1991 and 1998. ethnically Polish population outside • 1929 — St. Valentine’s Day The city hosts two Major League itself. Its Irish community is also Massacre involving gang leader Al Baseball teams (the Chicago White vibrant, with a substantial presence in Capone becomes one of the most Sox and the Chicago Cubs), the the city’s fire and police departments, notorious examples of crime mob and in its political leadership for more National Football League’s Chicago violence. than 150 years. Bears, the Chicago Blackhawks of • 1956 — Chicago-based Zenith the National Hockey League, and The Land Electronics invents the first wire- Major League Soccer’s Chicago Chicago occupies the southwest corner less television remote control. Fire. shore of Lake Michigan on flat and fertile terrain that was once the bottom of Lake • 1983 — Harold Washington is The two tallest skyscrapers in the Chicago, the prehistoric ancestor to Lake elected by Chicagoans as the first United States are both in Chicago Michigan. The lake is the largest fresh- African-American mayor. — Willis Tower (formerly Sears sea on the planet and contains 20 percent of Earth’s fresh water. • 1992 — Chicago’s Carol Moseley Tower), and Trump International Braun becomes the first female Hotel and Tower. At a height of Stretching 251 kilometers, the Chicago African-American U.S. senator. 442 meters, the Willis Tower, with River, which makes its way through 103 floors and 2,232 steps, is the Chicago, originally emptied tallest building in the Western into Lake Michigan. In 1900 engineers Skyscrapers, Sports, Celebrities constructed a series of canal locks Hemisphere. Today Chicago is famous as the to reverse its flow to provide better According to most local legends sanitation for city residents. Every March home of President Obama, who got the nickname “the Windy City,” 17, the river is dyed green to celebrate St. his start in politics as a community Patrick’s Day. organizer and went on to represent comes from the hot air bellowing his South Shore neighborhood in from its politicians and the fond- The Climate the Illinois state Senate before his ness of Chicagoans for talking Chicago enjoys distinct seasons but 2004 election to the U.S. Senate. It about their home. Many are espe- generally avoids extremes of heat and is also where television host Oprah cially proud of the city’s deep dish cold. The most pleasant times to visit pizza, Italian beef sandwiches and are in the spring and the fall. Average Winfrey rose to fame. Chicago-style hot dogs. temperatures range from 22 degrees Chicago is home to some of the Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celsius) in January world’s most famous sports teams to 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) in July.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE July 2013 BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS