Chicago’s got it all. Leave Santa Monica in your convertible and hop on route 66 until you’re in in Chicago. Stop by the city gallery and listen to the electric Chicago blues.
In this article, we’ll cover fun facts about Chicago that will make you want to grab a slice of deep-dish pizza.
>>Do you love deep dish? Try a thin crust style in Northern Italy!
7 Fun Facts About Chicago
- Chicago’s rapid growth created America’s largest wooden city, fueling US history’s costliest fire
- The Chicago River flows backwards thanks to one of America’s largest municipal earth-moving projects
- Chicago created America’s largest public lakefront
- Chicago has the world’s first planetarium and most complete T. rex skeleton
- Chicago earned its nicknames
- Chicago is a city of tall towers
- Famous Chicago natives and native Chicagoans
1. Chicago’s rapid growth created America’s largest wooden city, fueling history’s costliest fire
In 1833, Chicago incorporated as a town of 200 residents near the Mississippi River watershed. By 1871, Downtown Chicago in the city’s central business district has 334,000 residents, mostly living in wooden buildings.
The Great Chicago Fire soon followed.
2. The Chicago River flows backwards thanks to one of America’s largest municipal earth-moving projects
The Chicago River being dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day
In 1869, the city built the Chicago Water Tower at Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue, which stood 154 feet tall. It survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed 17,500 buildings across the city.
In 1900, engineers one upped themselves and reversed the Chicago River’s flow by creating the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to protect Lake Michigan’s drinking water from sewage contamination.
Evey year, the river is dyed green for Saint Patrick’s Day, though that tradition may end soon, according to Friends of the Chicago River.
3. Chicago created America’s largest public lakefront
In 1836, Chicago officials designated the Lake Michigan shoreline as public land across the 26-mile waterfront. Engineers built 37 steel and concrete barriers extending 200 feet into Lake Michigan to stop erosion.
North Avenue Beach extends 875 feet into Lake Michigan and has direct views of Chicago’s downtown skyline. The 24 free public beaches on Lake Michigan and lakefront bicycle paths attract 12 million visitors each year.
A view of North Avenue Beach with downtown Chicago’s skyline in the distance.
4. Chicago has the world’s first planetarium and most complete T. rex skeleton
The Adler Planetarium, built in 1930 at a cost of $1 million, became the first modern planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. The museum now features three full-size theaters and receives 500,000 visitors annually.
In 1893, The Field Museum began as part of the World’s Columbian Exposition. In 1997, the museum acquired Sue, a 90% complete 40-foot-long T. rex skeleton.
Shot of the Adler Planetarium against the lake.
5. Chicago earned its nicknames
Chicago is a pumping station for catchy nicknames. A few are listed below
| Nickname | Year | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Home of the Skyscraper | 1885 | Named after the Home Insurance Company Building, the world’s first steel-framed skyscraper. Chicago now has 12 of the 100 tallest buildings worldwide. |
| Second City | 1890 | Earned when Chicago became the second-largest U.S. city, though it is now the third-largest city. |
| Windy City | 1893 | Term was coined by a New York editor mocking politicians’ promotion of the World’s Columbian Exposition. |
| Chiraq | 2010s | The portmanteau blends “Chicago” and “Iraq,” comparing the violence in both locations. |
John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the Presidential Debate at Chicago’s CBS Studios
6. Chicago is a city of tall towers
In 1885, Chicago’s first skyscraper changed urban architecture with its steel frame construction, setting off a height race that transformed cities worldwide. By 1974, Chicago’s skyline included four record-breaking towers along a two-mile stretch between Adams Street and the Chicago River.
In 1973, the 1,451-foot Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) passed New York’s World Trade Center to become the world’s tallest building. It was the world’s tallest structure for 25 years. Today, the Willis Tower remains the Western Hemisphere’s second-tallest building. Chicagoans still call it the Sears Tower though.
7. Famous Chicago natives and native Chicagoans
| Name | Field | Claim to Fame |
|---|---|---|
| Saul Bellow | Author | Nobel Prize-winning novelist; raised in Chicago. |
| Al Capone | Gangster | Chicago Crime boss. |
| Richard J. Daley | Politician | Longtime Chicago Mayor. |
| Walt Disney | Animator/Entrepreneur | Creator of Disney; born in Chicago. |
| Enrico Fermi | Physicist | First nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago. |
| Harrison Ford | Actor | Star Wars, Indiana Jones. |
| Jennifer Hudson | Singer/Actress | Oscar-winning actress and singer. |
| Quincy Jones | Producer | Thriller. |
| Melissa McCarthy | Actress/Comedian | Gilmore Girls, Bridesmaids. |
| Barack & Michelle Obama | Political couple | 44th President of the United States. |
| Potter Palmer | Businessman | Millionaire hotelier Potter Palmer was a Chicago real estate developer. |
| Bertha Palmer | Philanthropist/Art Patron | Helped make Chicago an arts hub. |
| Jean Baptiste Point du Sable | Settler | First permanent settler of Chicago. |
| David Schwimmer | Actor | Friends. |
| Louis Sullivan | Architect | “Father of skyscrapers.” |
| Frank Lloyd Wright | Architect | World-famous architect. |
| Oprah Winfrey | Host/Entrepreneur | Oprah Winfrey Show. |
| Robin Williams | Actor/Comedian | The genie in Aladdin. |
References:
- City of Chicago: History of Chicago
- Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago: A River Reversed
- Friends of the Chicago River: St. Patrick’s Day River Dyeing
- Adler Planetarium: About Us
- Field Museum: Sue the T. rex