:: The University of Chicago ::


	- INTRODUCTION
	- THEATER
	- ART
	- MUSIC
	- CULTURE
	- WORLD'S FAIR
	- WEATHER
	- ARCHITECTURE
	- HISTORY
	- CUISINE
	- GREAT CHICAGO FIRE
	- HYDE PARK

- CITY OF CHICAGO MAP

- CITY OF CHICAGO FACTS

	Location
	Timeline
	Population
	Famous Chicagoans
	Movies filmed in Chicago
	Museums
	Parks
	Sports
	Manholes
	More


	- LEGENDS, MYTHS, AND FACTS

LOCATION

Chicago sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, 90 miles south of Milwaukee and 300 miles north of Saint Louis.

Square miles: 228
Miles of lakefront: 29
Miles of public beach: 15

TIMELINE

1673	First explored	1892	University of Chicago opens with 594 students and 103 faculty
1772	Founded (as Eschikagou)	1893	World's Columbian Exhibition brings 27 million visitors to Chicago
1776	First birth, Eulalia Pointe du Sable	1900	Direction of Chicago River reversed to increase sanitation and aid public health
1833	Incorporated as town, population 350	1931	Al Capone found guilty of income tax evasion
1847	First issue of Chicago Tribune published	1941	World's first controlled nuclear reaction conducted by Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago
1848	Board of Trade opens	1942	National tradition of organ music at baseball games begins when the Cubs install organ at Wrigley Field
1848	Telegraph established between Chicago and New York	1959	Comedy showcase Second City founded by alumni of the University of Chicago
1864	Union Stock Yards established; in following years, Chicago becomes world leader of meat packing industry	1971	Sears Tower opens, then the world's tallest building
1871	Great Chicago Fire destroys 3.5 square miles of downtown	1997	Chicago City Council approves resolution absolving Mrs. O'Leary's cow of all blame for the Great Chicago Fire
1879	Art Institute of Chicago founded	2004	Millennium Park opens
1886	(May 1) Haymarket Massacre; marks beginning of May 1 as worldwide revolutionary memorial day	2005	Barack Obama joins U.S. Senate
1891	"El" train goes into operation through the "Loop" circling downtown area	2006	100th anniversary of Sox over Cubs in the 1906 World Series, 4-2

POPULATION *		FAMOUS CHICAGOANS
Total residents: 2,896,016 African American: 36.77% Asian: 4.35% Asian, Pacific Islander: 0.06% Hispanic or Latino of any race: 26.02% Mixed racial heritage: 2.92% Native American: 0.36% Other races: 13.58% White: 41.97%		Nelson Algren Saul Bellow Dick Butkus Al Capone Sam Cooke John Cusack Clarence Darrow Walt Disney Dennis Franz Benny Goodman Herbie Hancock Seymour Hersh Michael Jordan Ann Landers John Malkovich Curtis Mayfield Bill Murray George "Baby Face" Nelson Eliot Ness Bob Newhart Walter Payton Jeremy Pivan Gene Siskel Studs Terkel Abigail Van Buren Dinah Washington Harold Washington Oprah Winfrey

MUSEUMS

MOVIES FILMED IN CHICAGO

Chicago offers more than 40 major museums and many other, smaller exhibitions. Most offer free admission one day per week. Among the highlights:

Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Children's Museum
Chicago Historical Society
David and Alfred Smart
Museum of Art ***
DuSable Museum of African American History
Ernest Hemingway
Birthplace and Museum
Field Museum
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Mexican Fine Arts Center
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Science and Industry
The Oriental Institute Museum ***
Renaissance Society ***

The Blues Brothers
The Color of Money
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Flatliners
The Fugitive **
Groundhog Day
Home Alone
In the Heat of the Night
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Meet the Parents
Miracle on 34th Street
National Lampoon's Vacation
North by Northwest
The Package **
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Proof **
Raisin in the Sun
Sixteen Candles
Sleepless in Seattle
The Sting
Wayne's World
When Harry Met Sally **

PARKS

SPORTS

Chicago's motto urbs in horto means "city in a garden." The city's park system comprises more than 7,000 acres and offers:

791 baseball/softball diamonds
975 basketball courts
32 beaches
258 field houses
506 playgrounds
210 athletic fields
6 golf courses
2 driving ranges
180 gymnasiums
5,327 harbor facilities (slips, docks, moorings, etc.)
56 indoor and 34 outdoor swimming pools
675 outdoor tennis courts
1 zoo

Chicago's storied sports tradition includes a legendary curse (the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 and haven't appeared in the Series since 1945). Other Chicago sports teams include:

Chicago White Sox (MLB baseball)
Chicago Bulls (NBA basketball)
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL hockey)
Chicago Bears (NFL football)
Chicago Rush (arena football)
Chicago Fire (MLS Soccer)

MANHOLES

Approximately 148,000

A few books that offer perspectives on the city:

- The Adventures of Augie March
by Saul Bellow

- Chicago Poems
by Carl Sandburg

- Chi Town
by Norbert Blei

- The Coast of Chicago
by Stuart Dybek

- The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson

- The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros

- The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair

- Letting Go
by Philip Roth

- The Man with the Golden Arm
by Nelson Algren

- Native Son
by Richard Wright

- Twenty Years at Hull-House
by Jane Addams

*Data based on 2000 census
**Filmed on Chicago’s campus
***Located on Chicago’s campus