“Chicago, mistress of the lakes, Controller of our inland trade,
The freest city of our states,
What wondrous strides thy fame has made!”
There are a lot many things that make Chicago a world famous city.
Some of the most important aspects of the city that brings fame to it are being discussed here. Chicago is one of the largest and third most populous cities in the United States with 2,851,268 residents living there.
Chicago was founded in 1833 and in 1837; it acquired the status of a city. Soon it outpaced the growth of any other city in Midwestern United States and became the biggest city in Illinois.
Because of its intense popularity and historical and contemporary importance, Chicago has been given many nicknames that explain the nature of the city.
Some of the very popular nicknames of Chicago are “The City that Works”, “Second City”, “Chi-town”, “City of Big Shoulders”, “The Most American of Big Cities”, and “Windy City.”
The city is famous for its innovative culture. The game of softball was invented in Chicago and the game gained immense popularity throughout the nation. Chicago gave some of the most impressive sports teams such as Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Cubs.Chicago is famous for some of the most wonderful engineering and technology successes. In 1900’s, engineers in Chicago created a wonder by successfully changing the flow of Chicago River, making it to run into the Mississippi River.
Earlier, the Chicago River used to empty its waters into Lake Michigan.
Chicago always remained first in the field of engineering and technology. The tallest building of the western hemisphere is Willis Tower which is 110 stories high and it is one of the important buildings of Chicago.
The oldest zoo of the United States is also situated in Chicago. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the 3 free zoos of the county that entertains millions of visitors every year.
Chicago has also gained name in medical world and the very first public blood bank of the world was opened in Chicago in the year 1937.In order to solve out the issue of blood shortage in Chicago, Dr. Bernard Fantus created that blood bank at Cook County Hospital.
The story of inventive and innovative Chicago is endless. In the year 1930, the very first planetarium of the entire western hemisphere was built in Chicago and in 1950; Chicago gave the first ever remote control for the television set.
Chicago is thus famous for its technological innovativeness, sports and a variety of cultural aspects. In addition, some of the highly talented people also make Chicago a famous city throughout the world.
Some of the Chicago celebrities are Oprah Winfrey, Roger Elbert, Jerry Springer, Harrison Ford, Michael Jordan, R. Kelly, Hugh Hefner and Barack Obama along with many others.
Around 32.4 million tourists made a visit to Chicago in the year 2008 in which 1.3 million visitors were from foreign countries.
Some major attractions for tourists include the eminent architecture of beautiful city along with impressive shopping centers and restaurants at State Street and Magnificent Mile.The Chicago Cultural Center was established in 1897 and it worked as Chicago Public Library for many years.
Nowadays, visitors may enjoy attractive exhibitions, galleries and special services through Visitors Information Center. The Grant Park of Chicago is another attractive feature of the city which includes the Buckingham Fountain and Millennium Park.
The city offers a lot many attractions for people with different tastes and that is why it attracts such a large number of tourists every year.
