Chicago

Pottawatomi Fashion at the Field Museum in Chicago

Chicago-fire1

Home Insurance Building

Looking West From Peristyle, Court of Honor and Grand Basin, 1893

File:Chicago Photographed from Ray Knabenshue's Dirigible Air Ship.webm Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles. With an estimated population of nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, also known as Chicagoland, which has nearly 10 million people and is the third-largest in the U.S.

History

The area now called Chicago was inhabited by Native American peoples for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. The name "Chicago" is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, translated as "wild onion" or "wild garlic", from the Miami-Illinois language. The city was officially founded in 1833 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. It rapidly grew in the mid-nineteenth century, with its growth being facilitated by its strategic location and its connection to the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the railroad.

Geography

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. It is a major hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. O'Hare International Airport, located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, is the second-busiest airport in the world by aircraft movements.

Culture

Chicago has a very prominent cultural scene, known for its visual arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy, and music, particularly jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, gospel, and electronic dance music including house music. The city has many nicknames, which reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best-known include: "Chi-town," "Windy City," "City of Big Shoulders," which refers to its numerous skyscrapers and the city's importance to the United States.

Economy

The city's economy has a diverse industrial base, making it a major international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. The Chicago Stock Exchange is one of the largest in the world, and the city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States due to its high level of diversification.

Education

Chicago is home to several prestigious universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The city also has a large public school system and numerous private schools.

Sports

Chicago is a major sports city, with two Major League Baseball teams: the Chicago Cubs of the National League, who play in Wrigley Field, and the Chicago White Sox of the American League, who play in Guaranteed Rate Field. The city also has an NFL team, the Chicago Bears; an NBA team, the Chicago Bulls; an NHL team, the Chicago Blackhawks; and an MLS team, the Chicago Fire.

Transportation

The city's transportation network includes the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which operates an extensive system of buses and a large rapid transit system known as the 'L' (short for "elevated"), which provides 24-hour service to many parts of the city and some suburbs. The city also has a large number of bicycle-sharing stations as part of the Divvy program.

See also

• History of Chicago
• Geography of Chicago
• Culture of Chicago
• Economy of Chicago
• Education in Chicago
• Sports in Chicago
• Transportation in Chicago