Hi buzz7821:
Thanks for the interesting question about Chicago. I learned alot from
researching it for you.
I will answer each of your questions separately and then provide you
with some additional links about this fascinating city.
Where is Chicago?
*****************
"Located on the Southwestern shores of Lake Michigan, in the northeast
corner of Illinois, in the midwest of the U.S. lies Chicago."
From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A782264
That description pretty much sums it up. However, the following links
provide a more visual representation:
World view:
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/index.html?id=362&size=medium&left=-88.05&bottom=41.45&right=-87.25&top=42.25&point=-87.65,41.85&text=Chicago
North America view: http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=&city=Chicago&state=IL&csz=Chicago,+IL&slt=41.849838&sln=-87.648193&zip=&country=us&BFKey=&BFCat=&BFClient=&cs=7&name=&desc=&poititle=&poi=&ds=n&mag=3&newmag=1
Great Lakes view:
http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=&city=Chicago&state=IL&csz=Chicago,+IL&slt=41.849838&sln=-87.648193&zip=&country=us&BFKey=&BFCat=&BFClient=&cs=7&name=&desc=&poititle=&poi=&ds=n&mag=4&newmag=3
Southern Lake Michigan view:
http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=&city=Chicago&state=IL&csz=Chicago,+IL&slt=41.849838&sln=-87.648193&zip=&country=us&BFKey=&BFCat=&BFClient=&cs=7&name=&desc=&poititle=&poi=&ds=n&mag=3&newmag=4
Play around with these online, interactive mapping services to get an
even better feel for Chicago's location in relation to other places.
Who Settled There?
******************
The first settler (circa 1779) at what is now Chicago was Jean Baptist
Point DuSable, a black pioneer. He settled near the mouth of the
Chicago river.
"Little is known about the Chicago area from 1700 until about 1779
when the pioneer settler of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an
African American from Sainte-Domingue (Haiti), built the first
permanent settlement at the mouth of the river just east of the
present Michigan Avenue Bridge on the north bank.
Records do not agree on the precise spelling of the name of the first
settler and it may be found variously as Pointe de Sable, Au Sable,
Point Sable, Sabre and Pointe de Saible. Du Sable, who appears to have
been a man of good taste and refinement, was a husbandman, a
carpenter, a cooper, a miller, and probably a distiller.
In Du Sable's home, which he shared with his Indian wife, the first
marriage in Chicago was performed, the first election was held, and
the first court handed down justice. The religion of the first
Chicagoan was Catholic and every contemporary report about Du Sable
describes him as a man of substance who started the story of Chicago
as well as the story of the African American in Chicago."
From: http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/dusable.html
"Jean Baptist Point DuSable was a black American pioneer, and he was
the first non-Indian resident known to build a house and start a
trading post on the land that became Chicago....After that, DuSable
went to what is now Chicago, at the mouth of the Chicago River, on the
shores of Lake Michigan, called Fort Dearborn. He was the first
non-Native American resident of that area."
From: http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215480/dusable.htm
The next significant event in Chicago's settlement was the building of
Fort Dearborn on the site in 1803-1804.
"It was not until 1803 that the War Department ordered the
construction of a fort at the mouth of the river. Troops arrived in
the area on August 17 and began building shelters and a stockade. A
year later, Fort Dearborn, named in honor of the Secretary of War, was
completed."
From: http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/ftdearborn.html
A second fort was built in 1816 (the original was destroyed) and
abandoned in 1837.
In 1830, the first survey of Chicago was completed, and in the town
was incorporated in 1833.
"In 1837, the town was incorporated as a city with a population of
4,170."
From: http://www.choosechicago.com/HISTORY.HTM
What might you expect to see, do, encounter in Chicago?
*******************************************************
Chicago is a vibrant city with a population of over 8,000,000 (greater
Chicago area). There are many, many things you can do, see, and
encounter in Chicago.
Sites/Attractions: The following are the most popular
sites/attractions in Chicago. They each have there own excellent
websites, where you can find out lots of more information.
From: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_america/chicago/attractions.htm
* Art Institute of Chicago: http://www.artic.edu/
* Chicago Cultural Center:
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CulturalCenter/
* Magnificent Mile: http://www.themagnificentmile.com/
* Navy Pier: http://www.navypier.com/
* Field Museum of Natural History: http://www.fmnh.org/
* Shedd Aquarium: http://www.sheddnet.org/
* Lincoln Park Zoo: http://www.lpzoo.com/
* Wrigley Field: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/ballpark/chc_ballpark_history.jsp
http://chicago.citysearch.com/feature/15659/
* Chicago Historical Society: http://www.chicagohs.org/
Activities/Things to Do: The following are some of the more popular
events/activities in the Chicago Area, as well as some less
well-known, but worthwhile activities.
* Chicago Blues Festival - May 29-June 1, 2003
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/SpecialEvents/Festivals/Blues2003/
* Chicago Gospel Festival - June 6-8, 2003
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/SpecialEvents/Festivals/Gospel2003/
* Chicago Jazz Festival - August 28-31, 2003
* Taste of Chicago - June 27-July 6, 2003
* Chicago International Children’s Film Festival - October 24-November
03, 2002
http://www.cicff.org/
* Chicago Book Festival - October
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/SpecialEvents/Book2002.html
A very detailed list of upcoming events can be found at:
Chicago Upcoming Events
http://www.chicago.il.org/EVENTCAL.HTM
Why is it called the second city?
*********************************
Chicago is called the "Second City" for two reasons.
* For many years it was the second largest city in the United States,
after New York. (Now however, it is third, after New York and Los
Angeles.)
* Much of the city had to be rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire of
1871.
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire
A.J. Liebling of The New Yorker Magazine coined the name "Second City"
in an article in 1949, complaining that Chicago was trying to hard to
duplicate New York's culture. Many residents of Chicago prefer to call
their home "The Windy City".
Other Information About Chicago:
********************************
The following sites might also be of interest to you.
Chicago Newspapers
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
http://www.suntimes.com/index/
City of Chicago Homepage
http://www.ci.chi.il.us/
Chicago Sports Teams:
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/homepage/chc_homepage.jsp
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/homepage/cws_homepage.jsp
http://www.nba.com/bulls/
http://www.chicagoblackhawks.com/
http://www.chicagobears.com/
http://www.chicago-fire.com/
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
http://www.cso.org/
Chicago Public Library
http://www.chipublib.org/cpl.html
I hope that this information has been of help to you.
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the Clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
Thank you.
websearcher-ga
Search Strategy:
Chicago
"where is chicago"
chicago map
online map world
Jean Baptist Point DuSable
"Fort Dearborn" history
Chicago history
Chicago events
chicago "things to do"
Chicago "second city" history "new york" |
