Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States. Over 9.5 million people reside in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Chicago is a major transportation and telecommunications center in North America. O'Hare International is the second busiest airport in the world. As of 2007, the city's attractions, business, and commerce bring 44.2 million visitors annually. Making use of its plentiful resources, Chicago has hosted major international, national, regional, and local events that include commerce, culture, entertainment, politics, and sports.

History

During the mid-1700s the area was inhabited by a native American tribe known as the Potawatomis, who had taken the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples. The first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a man of mixed African and European heritage born in Saint-Domingue, arrived in the 1770s, married a Potawatomi woman, and established the area’s first trading post. In August of 1833 the Town of Chicago is incorporated. The population totaled no more than 200 people, according to American Experience Web site.

What ensued after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was the largest building boom in the history of the United States. This lead to the relocation of many of the nation's most well-known architects to the city from New England for construction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building rose in Chicago heralding in the skyscraper era. Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest and most dense.

Sports

Chicago was named the Best Sports City in the United States by The Sporting News in 1993 and also in 2006.The city is home to two Major League Baseball teams: the Chicago Cubs of the National League play on the city's North Side while the Chicago White Sox of the American League play in on the city's South Side. Chicago is the only city in North America that has had more than one Major League Baseball franchise every year since the creation of the American League in 1900.

The Chicago Bulls of the NBA are one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world. With Jordan leading them, the Bulls took six NBA championships in eight seasons during the 1990s.