Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL is the largest city in Illinois and the third largest city in the U.S.  The population is 2.7 million with a median income of $45,700 and a median age of 42.  Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 and since then continued to grow rapidly.  In the mid to late 1800s Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world.  Today the city is an international hub for finance, commerce, industry, telecommunications and transportation.  Chicago has four well known nicknames; Chi-Town, Windy City, Second City and the City of Big Shoulders.  The name "Chicago" came from the Potawatomi Indian word, shikaakwa, which meant wild onion.  The river smelled like that so Chicago means smelly onion swamp.  The Potawatomi Indians lived in the Chicago area in the mid 18th century.  In the 1780s the first non Native American to settle in the area was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable.  He is known as the founder of Chicago.  There were several treaties with the Indians over the next several years dealing with the Chicago area and eventually the Potawatomi Indians were forced out by the Treaty of Chicago in 1833.  Chicago became incorporated in 1837 and became the fastest growing city in the world due to the Great Lakes, Chicago river and the railroads.  The Chicago fire in 1871 destroyed a large section of Chicago due to so many wooden structures that was built at that time getting burnt to the ground.  When Chicago began rebuilding the buildings were not built with wood but used new building materials of steel and stone.  The first skyscraper in the world was built in Chicago in 1885.  The Chicago Skyline is known as one of the most beautiful skylines with so many different architectural styles.  In the 19th Century Chicago became the nations railroad center and still holds that title today.  The railroad in Chicago is the reason North America has time zones.  In 1883 the standardized system of time zones was adapted by the general time convention of  railroad managers in Chicago.  This led to the uniform system of telling time in North America. Due to the jobs available in Chicago it became a popular place for immigrants from other countries to come settle in which made Chicago a very diversified city.  It continued to grow, especially in the 1920s even with the "gangster" reputation Chicago had with Al Capone during Prohibition.  Chicago has several major league sports teams with the NFL Chicago Bears (da Bears), the MLB Chicago Cubs (go cubbies) and the Chicago White Sox, the NBA Chicago Bulls and the NHL Chicago Blackhawks.   Chicago is a great city and a great place to visit.
Since I am from Chicago I may be a little bias but most people who visit Chicago love it.  Unlike NYC or LA most of the people living in Chicago are from Chicago.  We went downtown yesterday and spent the day with my sister in law  and friend, Candy.  She has lived in the city for 10 years now and we had such a good time.  We took the train from Great Lakes to the Loop and met her at her office.  We then took a water taxi to Navy Pier where we did an Architecture tour on the Chicago river.  It was an great boat ride on the Chicago river learning all about the buildings of Chicago.  There are so many different architecture styles designed by so many different architects yet it all works together to make a beautiful skyline.  I took close to 200 pictures of the buildings and skyline and it was difficult deciding what to post.  After the boat ride we ate along the river at an Irish Pub.  The food was good and the atmosphere was amazing, since we sat outside on the river.  We then walked over to Michigan Ave and ended up at Water Tower Place to do a little shopping.  We ended up at Candy's apartment for a little while.  We grabbed a taxi from there to the train station and headed home.  We had a great time in Chicago.  Thanks Candy for making it so much fun!  Chicago is my hometown and it will forever hold a place in my heart no matter where I live.