Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States and is one of America’s most vibrant cities. This page will give you a brief overview of everything related to Chicago, from historical facts, to well-known local places, as well as providing you with information on some of the attractions in the area.

The History of Chicago

Although the first inhabitants date back about 10,000 years ago during the Ice Age period, it was in 1833 that the city had its official founding. The city’s founder is named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who came to America from Haiti to escape slavery. On his arrival, he built a cabin on what later became known as Michigan Avenue near the river and called this land “Checagou”. He sold goods out of his house for many years until his death in 1818. Du Sable had a will leaving money to build a school for children – but since there were no schools at all at the time this went unnoticed by everyone until twenty-five years after he died when someone finally read the will.

In 1837, Chicago was incorporated into a village, and this marked a major turning point in its history – from that point forward it started growing exponentially – mainly due to the transfer of a railroad to the city. At least 100 people came to work on building the rail line each week! In 1850, Chicago was officially named a city. Due to all this rapid development, it became clear from very early on that there were no longer any areas left for constructing new homes or buildings, so by 1910 downtown began developing upwards instead with tall skyscrapers being built (the first one being The Home Insurance Building).

In 1912, Chicago had a population of over one million people and was considered the fourth city in America, behind New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. It then experienced another boom period between 1920-1940 when it became the fastest growing city in history due to massive migration from other parts of the country as well as immigration from Europe and Asia. In 1930 Chicago received the nickname “The Windy City”, possibly due to the strong winds that came off the lake, or because of all its politicians who were known to brag about their accomplishments. In 1955, Sears Tower (now called The Willis Tower) was completed at 108 stories becoming the tallest building in the world.

In the 60s, Chicago was an epicenter for the national civil rights movement. Between 1963-1968, Martin Luther King Jr., one of America’s most well-known Civil Rights activists, led an open housing movement in order to end racial segregation; he also led a march with over 250k people (making it the largest protest ever held in America).

In the 1970s, Richard J. Daley was elected as Mayor of Chicago, and he would remain in office until his death in 1976. He is one of the most well-known mayors who made lasting changes for this city; some of which were building projects (most notably Lake Shore Drive) and mental health initiatives.

From 1980 to the early 90s, crime rates skyrocketed as gang violence became a serious problem. However, this was around the same time that Richard M. Daley was elected and he made fighting against violent crime and drug trafficking one of his top priorities which helped to reduce activity and improve the city’s reputation.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Chicago became a major center of business and finance in America – especially for the insurance industry. Today it is now called “World City” because people from all over the world come to Chicago to both visit and live there. It has become a magnet for international migration which includes substantial immigration from Mexico making it today one of the most important cities for Latino culture in America.

Chicago’s Flag

Chicago’s flag has a white background with four red stars and two blue stripes. The four stars represent significant events. One is Fort Dearborn – where fighting between Native Americans and European settlers for control of the land resulted in casualties, including many civilians being killed. Another star represents the Great Chicago Fire that destroyed nearly all buildings in what today is now downtown Chicago over one hundred years ago in 1871. It was so bad it couldn’t be contained by firefighters which caused some people to start chanting “the whole town will burn down”.

The other two stars represent the World’s Columbian Exposition and The Century of Progress Expositions which both occurred in Chicago within a few years of each other during the time period 1893 to 1933, nearly 100 years ago. The first was a world-class fair that commemorated Christopher Columbus’ journey to America. The latter exposition then led up to present day with modern innovations like automobiles, airplanes, radio, and television.

The blue stripes represent Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. The four stars are also arranged in a way to symbolize how Chicago’s roads grid is set up which resembles Illinois’ state flag.

Chicago’s Neighborhoods

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, many growing from the fact that it was one of the only cities whose downtown area wasn’t destroyed during World War II. In each neighborhood you’ll find different activities and events going on throughout the year including festivals, block parties, parades, etc. Neighborhoods are often separated by major streets (like Halsted Street for example) which in Chicago run north to south but also by other geographic characteristics like “the gap”, separating Lincoln Park from Lake View and Belmont Harbor to break up Lake Shore Drive and provide beach access at Rainbow Beach Park. There’s also another lakefront park called North Avenue Beach located just south of North Avenue itself (which marks another natural barrier).

Today there are over 200 neighborhoods within Chicago. Some are named after native plants (like Garfield Ridge or Wildwood) while others are named after nationalities (Arlington Heights, Greektown). Some of Chicago’s neighborhoods have even been featured in movies like The Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

A few major neighborhoods include the following:

– River North & Gold Coast – great for shopping including businesses like Nike (whose headquarters are nearby), Motorola, and Allstate. These neighborhoods also happen to be some of the most expensive places in the city.

– The Loop – home to the Willis Tower (formerly named Sears Tower, built 1972) and many financial companies based here plus Millennium Park.

– West Town – long known as a Polish neighborhood including businesses such as the world famous Andy’s Frozen Custard which was featured on Man vs. Food.

– Near West Side – this area is going through a decade long process of revitalization with new residential units as well as new grocery stores and restaurants popping up in recent years.

– Pilsen and Little Village – located along Halsted Street. These neighborhoods are quickly becoming up-and-coming areas with new businesses opening in the area.

– Ukrainian Village – an excellent place for dining and entertainment including restaurants like Kuma’s Corner (famous among locals for its burgers), Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar, and a theater called Chopin Theatre. It is also home to many residential units geared towards students attending schools nearby such as DePaul University and Columbia College Chicago.

A few more neighborhoods include Wicker Park, Logan Square, Bridgeport, Englewood, Back of the Yards/Marquette Park/Washington Heights, Chinatown, Ravenswood Manor/Ravenswood Gardens/North Mayfair, West Rogers Park & Sauganash/Lincolnwood (which is known for its abundance of Polish restaurants), Pilsen, Little Village, Garfield Ridge and Wildwood.

Average Weather For Chicago

June/July – high 78F / low 66 F

August – high 85.6 F (30C) / low 71.7 F

September/October – high 75.8 F (24 C)/low 63.5 F

November/December – high 51.4 F (11C)/low 27.1 F

December is the coldest month while July is the warmest month and doesn’t usually get below freezing at night. If you really want to know more about Chicago’s seasonal weather patterns, visit the Illinois State Water Survey website which includes maps and charts of how temperatures vary across some of its neighboring states as well.

Famous Landmarks in Chicago

– Willis/Sears Tower: former tallest building in the world, completed in 1973 and remains the tallest building in Chicago.

– Wrigley Field: home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team whose owners also own a liquor distributor so they have their name plastered everywhere on the stadium. During games you can get beer and sandwiches at traditional concession stand prices but if you want to sit at a table or buy alcohol to take with you anywhere else, expect to pay an arm and a leg (or as much as $250 for one bottle of vodka).

– Magnificent Mile: Michigan Avenue between Oak Street & Erie Street. It is 3 1/2 miles long and filled with high-end shopping stores like Tiffany’s, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, and Macy’s. Its sidewalks are full of people on any given day but especially during the holiday season.

– Buckingham Fountain: located at 401 S Columbus Drive in Grant Park and is known for its choreographed nighttime fountain show set to music (usually Frank Sinatra classics). It also has a really nice view of downtown Chicago.

Getting to Chicago

You can fly into O’Hare airport which is located about 17 miles from downtown. You can also fly into Midway airport which also serves as a domestic hub for Southwest Airlines and is 8 miles south of downtown.

It takes 26 minutes to get from the O’Hare terminals to downtown Chicago by public transportation. The CTA Orange line will take you directly to stops along its loop (the Blue line too if your destination is at one of those stations) such as Grand, Washington/Wells, Clark & Lake (which has access to both lines), State Street, LaSalle/Van Buren etc.

From Midway, you can take the CTA Orange line (or Blue line if your destination is at one of those stations) to downtown Chicago or use the Midway Air Train [http://www.metrarail.com/] which runs between O’Hare and Midway airports.

If you are driving to Chicago:

– From the north take I-90/94 south past Dan Ryan Expressway, then I-57 south to Indiana and continue with that for a bit before switching over to I-65 South until it ends near Gary in Indiana. Then follow I-80 / 90 east towards Indianapolis but do not enter the city, instead continue upstate along US 30 through Lafayette, Crawfordsville & Frankfort, IN and finally north to Chicago.

– From the east take I-90/94 west towards the city then get off at the US 6 exit toward Joliet and head south all the way until you hit I-80 and merge with it heading west towards Peoria, Springfield & St Louis or otherwise continue north along US 30 through Lafayette, Crawfordsville & Frankfort, IN and finally north to Chicago.

– From the south take I-55 North into IL until you reach Dan Ryan Expressway which will turn into Kennedy Expressway that will lead you directly to downtown Chicago.

– From the west head east on I-90 and merge with I-94 heading north towards Chicago then continue upstate along US 30 through Lafayette, Crawfordsville & Frankfort, IN and finally north to Chicago.

If you are taking the train to Chicago:

– Amtrak is the easiest way to get into/out of Chicago but it is also the slowest. There are multiple trains that run daily from various cities in the US going into Chicago: Silver Star, Cardinal, Hoosier State & Hiawatha Service (from Indianapolis), Lincoln Service & Wolverine Service (from Ft Wayne), Pere Marquette, Illini & Saluki service (from Carbondale and Central Illinois), Missouri River Runner (St Louis) service.

All these options will take you directly into downtown Chicago where upon arrival there are plenty of public transportation services available such as buses, taxis, and CTA trains to name a few.

So there you have it, pretty much everything you need to know about the great city of Chicago, IL. Once you’ve arrived, if you’re looking for things to do, check out our lists below:

10 Places to Visit in Chicago, Illinois
10 of the Best Parks and Recreation Places in Chicago
10 Favorite Chicago Bars with Live Music
10 Great Places to Eat & Drink In Chicago, Illinois
10 of the Best Bars & Pubs in Chicago, Illinois
The History of the Chicago Bears Football Team
A Brief History of the Chicago Cubs Baseball Team