Chicago Hotels, Attractions, and Information

Written by Julie Greiner

Chicago - Chicago... As Old Blue Eyes sang - It's My Kind Of Town. Chicago is located along the southwest shore of Lake Michigan and is in a region of frequently changeable weather. The title "Windy City" was given to Chicago by New York Sun editor Charles Dana in 1893. He was referring to listening two long-winded politicians boast about the wonders of the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago that year. Not only is Chicago's history colorful, dynamic and ever progressive... no better place is there to spend today's vacation.

Chicago Has Many Firsts

The first resident of Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. DuSable, a fur trader, built the first settlement in 1779. In 1837 Chicago was incorporated as a city with a population of 4,170. The name Chicago comes from an Indian word meaning strong or great. The great fire of Chicago happened on October 8, 1871 and claimed some 300 lives. After the disaster plans were drawn and the city was rebuilt. Chicago is home

Photo by Willy Schmidt
Courtesy Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau

to the first totally fire-proof hotel, the Palmer House at State and Monroe Street. And mentioning firsts... no other city has as many. To name a few - Chicago produced the first steel frame skyscraper, stainless steel building, electric iron, cooking range, Pullman railroad car, grain reaper, reactor to produce electricity from atomic energy, cafeteria, window envelope, the bifocal contact lens, the winding watch, the Butterfinger and Baby Ruth candy bars, Cracker Jacks, Schwinn bicycles and the list goes on.

Touring Chicago

For the visitor - Chicago has landmarks, museums, zoos and historical sites unmatched in any other major city. The Sears Tower is the world's tallest building, the Merchandise Mart is the world's largest commercial building, Chicago's McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. And then there is Chicago's Magnificent

Photo by Peter J. Schultz
Courtesy Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau

Mile.

Shopping and Dining Out in Chicago is Unsurpassed

The downtown area has been updated and renovated to meet with today's demands. There is no finer and/or diverse shopping than in Chicago and its surrounding suburban malls: Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Fields, Lazarus, Bloomingdales... and the boutiques are diversified. When it comes to continental dining there is no match to what Chicago has to offer. From casual inexpensive to the finest formal cuisine in the western hemisphere.

A few statistics to mention: Chicago has 46 museums, more than 200 theaters, approximately 7,000 restaurants, three of the world's tallest buildings, 29 miles of lakefront, 15 miles of bathing beaches and the world's largest cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made over 4.6 billion Oreo cookies in 1997.