Helpful Chicago Vacation Information
Six Flags Great America, Chicago
A mere 175 years old, the City of Chicago is located in the state of Illinois, on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The Chicago metropolitan area is known colloquially as Chicagoland, after a term promoted by the Chicago Tribune in the early 20th century. Chicago has many different nicknames and has been ranked as one of ten "alpha" world cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. It is recognized around the world for its magnificent skyline, unique cuisine and an urban style all its own. When combined with its surrounding suburbs and with nearby Milwaukee, Chicago can be considered part of a megalopolis.
Chicago City Info
- Third largest city in the U.S.
- Largest city in Illinois
- Elevation: 596 feet
- County: Cook
- Land area: 227.1 square miles
- Number of Radio Stations: 10 AM, 18 FM
- Number of TV Channels: 13
Chicago Weather and Climate:
- Average daily temperature — Jan: 23?F; July: 74.7?F
- Average annual rainfall — 37.8 inches
- Average annual snowfall — 38.5 inches
Distances to other Metropolitan Areas from Chicago:
- Atlanta, GA — 719 miles
- Cincinnati, OH -- 295 miles
- Detroit, MI -- 283 miles
- Indianapolis, IN -- 181 miles
- Memphis, TN — 532 miles
- Minneapolis, MN -- 410 miles
- New York City, NY -- 789 miles
- St. Louis, MO — 294 miles
- Washington, DC -- 699 miles
Chicago Safety Phone # and Major Hospitals:
- Ambulance: 911; Police: 911; Fire: 911
- Bethany Hospital (3435 W Van Buren)
- Chicago-Read Mental Health Center (4200 N Oak Park Ave)
- Children's Memorial Hospital (2300 Children's Plaza)
- Columbia Michael Reese Hospital & Medical Center (2929 S Ellis)
- Cook County Hospital (1825 W Harrison St)
- Trinity Hospital (2320 E 93rd St)
- Grant Hospital (550 W Webster Ave)
- Hartgrove Hospital (520 N Ridgeway)
- Chicago Lakeshore Hospital (4840 N Marine Dr)
- Holy Cross Hospital (2701 W 68th Street)
- Jackson Park Hospital Foundation (7531 S Stoney Island Ave)
- Larabida Childrens Hospital (E 65th St At Lake Michigan)
- Loretto Hospital (645 South Central Ave)
- Louis A Weiss Memorial Hospital (4646 N Marine Drive)
- Mercy Hospital And Medical Center (2525 S Michigan Ave)
- Methodist Hospital Of Chicago (5025 N Paulina Street)
- Mt Sinai Hospital Medical Center (15th Street At California)
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital (250 E Superior Street)
- Norwegian-American Hospital (1044 N Francisco Ave)
- Our Lady Of The Resurrection Medical Center (5645 W Addison)
- Provident Hospital Of Chicago (500 E 51st St)
- Ravenswood Hospital & Medical Center (4550 N Winchester)
- Rehabilitation Institute Of Chicago (345 East Superior)
- Resurrection Medical Center (7435 W Talcott)
- Roseland Community Hospital (45 W 111th Street)
- Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center (1653 West Congress Parkway)
- Sacred Heart Hospital (3240 W Franklin Blvd)
- Saint Joseph Hospital & Health Care Center (2900 North Lake Shore Drive)
- Schwab Rehabilitation Center (1401 S California)
- South Shore Hospital (8012 South Crandon Avenue)
- St Anthony's Hospital (2875 West 19th Street)
- St Bernard Hospital (326 W 64th St)
- St Elizabeth Hospital Of Chicago Inc (1431 N Claremont Ave)
- St Mary Of Nazareth Hospital Center (2233 W Division St)
- Swedish Covenant Hospital (5145 N California Ave)
- Thorek Hospital And Medical Center (850 W Irving Park Rd)
- University Of Chicago Hospitals (5841 South Maryland)
- University Of Illinois Hospital (1740 West Taylor St Suite 1400)
Chicago Top Tourism Draws and Seasons:
Chicago Major Shopping Areas:
- Magnificent Mile (The Loop)
- Navy Pier
- Chinatown
- Water Tower Place: 835 North Michigan Avenue, 60611; Telephone: 312-440-3166.
- Marshall Field's and Company: 111 North State Street, 60602; Telephone: 312-781-1000
- NikeTown — 669 North Michigan Avenue; 60611; Telephone: 312-642-6363.
- Woodfield Mall — Route 53 and Golf Road; Schaumburg, IL 60173. Telephone: 1-800-332-1537.
- Gurnee Mills Mall — 6170 Grand Avenue; Gurnee, IL 60031; Telephone: 1-800-937-7467.
Chicago Major Dining Areas:
Chicago Famous Landmarks & Historic Places:
- Sears Tower Skydeck
- Harold Washington Library
- Chicago Historical Society
- Chicago Cultural Center
- Graceland Cemetery
- Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio
- DuSable Museum of African American History
- Hull House
- Chicago Board of Trade
- Wrigley Field Tours
- Michigan Avenue Bridge
- Union Station
Chicago Famous Natives and Residents:
- Franklin Pierce Adams
- Jane Addams, Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
- Gillian Anderson, Actress
- Nelson Algren, Writer
- John Ashcroft
- Saul Bellow, Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature
- James Belushi, Actor
- John Belushi, Actor
- Bob Bernard, Entrepreneur
- Ray Bradbury, Author
- Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet
- Daniel Burnham, Architect
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, Writer
- Dick Butkus, Pro Football Hall of Famer
- Jane Byrne, Former Mayor
- Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
- Marvin Camras
- Harry Caray, TV & Radio Broadcaster
- Al Capone, Mobster
- Cedric the Entertainer, comedian and actor
- Anton Cermak, Former Mayor
- The rock group Chicago
- Wesley Clark, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander & retired four-star general in the U.S. Army
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator & Former First Lady
- Nat King Cole, Musician
- Natalie Cole, Singer
- Billy Corgan, singer
- "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, Former Alderman
- Joan Cusack, Actress
- John Cusack, Actor
- Richard J. Daley, Former Mayor
- Richard M. Daley, Current Mayor
- Miles Davis, musician
- John Dillinger, criminal
- Walt Disney, Founder of The Walt Disney Company
- Mike Ditka, former Bears coach and television analyst
- Stephen Douglas, politician
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, early Chicago settler
- Phil Everly, singer
- Chris Farley, actor
- Marshall Field, entrepreneur
- Betty Ford, former First Lady
- Harrison Ford, actor
- Bob Fosse, director
- Ira Glass, NPR broadcaster
- Benny Goodman, musician
- John Goodman, actor
- Steve Goodman, Singer
- George Halas
- Carter Harrison, Sr., former Mayor
- Carter Harrison, Jr., former Mayor
- Ernest Hemingway, writer
- Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, early Chicago developer
- Freddie Jackson, Singer
- Louis Joliet, Canadian explorer
- Michael Jordan, former NBA player
- R. Kelly, Singer
- Michael "Hinky-Dink" Kenna, former Alderman
- B.B. King, blues musician
- John Kinzie, early Chicago settler
- Gene Krupa, Musician
- Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski, college basketball coach
- Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer), columnist
- Marv Levy
- Ramsey Lewis, jazz musician and radio host
- Bernie Mac, comedian and actor
- David Mamet, playwright, poet, screenwriter, director
- Jacques Marquette, missionary
- Joseph Medill, newspaper editor & former Mayor
- Merrill C. Meigs, newspaper publisher
- Bill Murray, actor
- Bob Newhart, actor
- Charles Gilman Norris, author
- Barack Obama, U.S. Senator
- William Butler Ogden, first mayor of Chicago, entrepreneur
- Ruth Page, Ballet dancer
- Potter Palmer, entrepreneur
- Ed Paschke, Artist
- Walter Payton, Pro Football Hall of Famer
- James Petrillo, musician's union head
- George Pullman, entrepreneur, inventor
- Harold Ramis, actor, director
- Mike Royko, columnist
- Jack Ruby, killed Lee Harvey Oswald
- Donald Rumsfeld, current United States Secretary of Defense
- Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune
- Ryne Sandberg, former Cubs second baseman
- Carl Sandburg, poet
- Horatio Sanz, actor
- Dan Savage, columnist
- Amy Sedaris, actress
- David Sedaris, radio broadcaster & author
- Captain George Streeter
- Louis Sullivan, architect
- Lorado Taft
- Maria Tallchief, Ballet dancer, founder of the Chicago City Ballet
- Studs Terkel, broadcaster, author
- Isiah Thomas, Basketball Hall of Famer
- William Hale Thompson, last Republican mayor of Chicago
- James Tiptree, Jr., author
- Irving Wallace
- Harold Washington, former Mayor
- Muddy Waters, blues musician
- John Wentworth, former mayor and Congressman
- Kanye West, rapper
- Robin Williams, actor
- Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect
- Charles Yerkes, entrepreneur
- Billy Zane, actor
- Florenz Ziegfeld, empresario
Notable Moments in Chicago History:
- 1795 — The area of Chicago was ceded by the Native Americans in the Treaty of Greenville to the US for use as a military post.
- 1803 — Fort Dearborn is built.
- 1833 -- Chicago is incorporated as a town with a population of 350.
- 1837 — Chicago is granted a city charter by the state of Illinois.
- 1871 — Most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire.
- 1900 — The Chicago River's direction of flow was reversed to prevent sewage from running in the city's water source, Lake Michigan.
- 1942 — The world's first controlled nuclear reaction was conducted at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project.
Interesting facts about Chicago:
- The city's flag has three white stripes representing the North, West and South sides of the city. The top blue stripe represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago Rive. The bottom blue stripe represents the South Branch of the Chicago River and the Great Canal. The four red stars in the center represent Chicago events: Fort Dearborn Massacre, the Great Chicago Fire, the World Columbia Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.
- The city's motto is Urbs in Horto, "City in a Garden"
- Chicago's nicknames include: "The Windy City," "The City That Works," "Second City," "Chi-town," "Slaughterhouse to the World," "City by the Lake," "My kind of Town," and "That Toddling Town."
- Carl Sandburg wrote a famous poem about Chicago: "Hog butcher for the world, Tool maker, stacker of wheat, Player with railroads and the nation's freight handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the big shoulders."
- Chicago has the largest park district in the US; it is managed by the Chicago Park District.
Chicago Population and Demographics:
- Population (year 2000): 2,896,016, Est. population in July 2002: 2,886,251 (-0.3% change)
- Males: 1,405,107 (48.5%), Females: 1,490,909 (51.5%)
- Median resident age: 31.5 years
- Median household income: $38,625 (year 2000)
- Median house value: $132,400 (year 2000)
- Races in Chicago:
Black (36.8%)
White Non-Hispanic (31.3%)
Hispanic (26.0%)
Other race (13.6%)
Two or more races (2.9%)
Chinese (1.1%)
Filipino (1.0%)
Asian Indian (0.9%)
American Indian (0.7%)
Other Asian (0.5%)
- Ancestries: Polish (7.3%), Irish (6.6%), German (6.5%), Italian (3.5%), English (2.0%), United States (1.3%)
Chicago Colleges and Universities:
- University Of Illinois At Chicago
- Depaul University
- University Of Chicago
- Loyola University Chicago
- Columbia College Chicago
- Northeastern Illinois University
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Malcolm X College
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Harry S Truman College
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Richard J Daley College
- National-Louis University
- Chicago State University
- Robert Morris College
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Harold Washington College
- Illinois Institute Of Technology Roosevelt University
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College
- City Colleges Of Chicago-Kennedy-King College
- Devry Institute Of Technology
- Saint Xavier University
Chicago Economy & Business — Notable Companies based in Chicago:
- Accenture
- Aon
- Baird & Warner
- Bank One
- Baxter International
- Boeing
- Brunswick Corporation
- CDW
- Chess Records
- Chicago Board of Trade
- Chicago Mercantile Exchange
- Chicago Stock Exchange
- Click Commerce
- CNA Financial
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Equity Office Properties
- Equity Residential Properties Trust
- Exelon
- Fortune Brands
- General Growth Properties
- Grainger
- Hostway
- Illinois Tool Works
- Molex
- Morton Salt
- Music Corporation of America
- National Stock Exchange
- Navistar International
- Newell Rubbermaid
- Nicor
- Northern Trust
- Orbitz
- Peoples Energy
- Playboy
- Quaker Oats
- R.R. Donnelley & Sons
- Rotary International
- Sara Lee
- Servicemaster
- Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
- Tribune Company
- US Cellular
- Unitrin
- Whittman-Hart
- WM. Wrigley Jr. Company
Chicago Hispanic Community Media and Churches:
- Spanish Television Channel -- WXFT Channel 60, Telefutura Chicago.
- Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum — 1852 West 19th Street, 60608; 312-738-1503; showcases Latin American and Mexican artistry.
- Hispanic Churches: Iglesia Aliaza Christiana Y Misionera Hispana. Address: 1717 North Fairfield Avenue, 60647; Telephone: 773-252-1325.
Hubboldt Park Hispanic Seventh Day Adventist. Address: 1733 North Kedvale Avenue, 60639; Telephone: 773-235-0758.
Iglesia Evangelica Hispana Delplaceo Grace. Address: 4201 North Monticello Avenue, 60618; Telephone: 773-478-0357.
Center for Hispanic Ministry. Address: 4259 North Hamlin Avenue, 60618; Telephone: 773-583-4113.
Iglesia Metodista Hispana. Address: 666 Graceland Avenue, Des Plaines, IL, 60016; Telephone: 847-827-6939.
- Spanish Newspapers:
La Raza
Lawndale News Noticiero Bilingue.
- Spanish Radio Stations: WLEY 107.9 FM, WOJO 105.1 FM, WVIV 103.1 FM
|
|
|
