History

Chicago is Home to Many Famous Museums

A big point of visiting Chicago involves its various museums. These museums are some of the most famous ones in the world. They feature many attractions for all people to enjoy.

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the top museums in the city. The AIC is housed in a building on South Michigan Avenue that was used in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. The museum is famous for its massive collection of paintings from many artists. The museum features works from Seurat, Renoir, Van Gogh, El Greco, Cassatt, Grant Wood, Hopper, Monet and even Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Museum of Science and Industry is another famous museum. The MSI is famous for its many interactive exhibits. These include the original Apollo 8 spacecraft, a full size Boeing 727 jet, a large rebuilding of an early twentieth century neighborhood and a massive doll house. The museum is also home to a German U-505 submarine that was captured in World War II.

The Field Museum is a natural history museum in Chicago. This museum is home to a variety of natural history exhibits and touring attractions. The biggest attraction is Sue the Tyrannosaurus rex. This forty-foot long, seven ton dinosaur skeleton is the largest and most complete natural dinosaur skeleton to have ever been found.

The Adler Planetarium is an astronomy museum located off of South Lake Shore Drive. It is home to many different space and astronomy exhibits. The museum is also famous for its massive theaters and its large dome.

One great museum for kids in Chicago is the Chicago Children’s Museum at Navy Pier. The CCM features a full size replica firehouse and a massive schooner.

The Chicago History Museum is the last museum to visit. This museum at North Clark Street features many artifacts from Chicago’s history. These include many artifacts from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. A passenger car that served people during the 1893 Fair and a full size locomotive are also on display here.

While you’re visiting Chicago, please visit some of the animal shelters in the area. Illinois is a great place and there are many dogs and cats needing new homes.

Grant Park is a Beautiful Place to Visit in Chicago

A great place in Chicago for anyone to visit is Grant Park, especially if you can bring your dog to Illinois. This is a large open air park located right off of Lake Michigan. This is a park with many impressive attractions. It is also home to many events each year.

Grant Park, which is named after former American President Ulysses S. Grant, is located on the far eastern end of central Chicago. It is located between South Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive. The park is noted for being a great site for people to visit. The park is home to a large number of open lawns for sports and plenty of open meeting areas.

The park is also popular for its proximity to many other Chicago attractions. These include such attractions as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Adler Planetarium.

The Buckingham Fountain is the most notable part of Grant Park. This large fountain operates every summer and has been doing so since 1927. Also, a water show with water coming from the fountain’s many jets can be seen at the top of each hour in a day.

The northwest part of the park is home to Millennium Park. This area of the park features a variety of different sculptures. The most notable attraction is the Cloud Gate sculpture. This sculpture, which is also known as “the Bean,” is a massive sculpture with a fully reflective mirror surface.

The brilliant surroundings and features of the park have made this a popular site for many events every year. The Taste of Chicago, a major local food festival, is held here every summer. Music festivals are held throughout the year as well. These include such festivals as the Chicago Jazz Festival, Lollapalooza and the Chicago Blues Festival. Many special performances at these festivals will take place at the Petrillo Music Shell on the northern part of the park.

Historic timeline of Chicago

Chicago is a city rich in history. Below is a partial timeline from the time it was discovered to present-day. You’ll see that there are many firsts on the list – some good, some not so good. But, we are the sum of our parts, for better or for worse.

1673 Discovery
1696-1700 Mission of the Guardian Angel
1779 Jean Baptiste Point DuSable
Marker
1795 Treaty of Greenville
1812 Fort Dearborn Massacre
1818 Illinois Admitted to Statehood
1830 Thompson Plat—First Plat of Chicago
1832 Black Hawk War
1833 Incorporated as a Town
1837 Incorporated as a City
1837 Chicago’s First Mayor – William Butler Ogden Elected
1847 First Issue of Chicago Tribune
1848 Chicago Builds First Municipal Structure, Market Building
1848 Illinois & Michigan Canal Completed
1848 Galena & Chicago Union Railroad
1848 Telegraph Reaches Chicago
1855 Lager Beer Riots
1855 Police Department Created
1856 Chicago Historical Society Founded
1857 Academy of Sciences Founded
1860 Lincoln Nominated at Chicago’s First National Convention
1867 First Tunnel Under the Lake
1869 First Traffic Tunnels Under the River
1871 The Great Fire
1872 Chicago Board of Education Established
1872 Montgomery Ward—First Mail-Order House
1877 Telephones Reach Chicago
1877 Railroad Strike
1879 Carter Harrison Elected Mayor
1880 Town of Pullman Built
1886 Haymarket Riot
1890 City Press Association of Chicago Founded
1892 First Elevated Rapid Transit Line
1893 Chicago Harbor Lighthouse Built
1893 The First Ferris Wheel Debuts in Chicago
1893 Daniel Hale Williams Performs Open Heart Surgery
1893 Mayor Carter Harrison Shot and Killed
1893 Columbian Museum of Chicago (Field Museum of Natural History) Founded
1894 Pullman Strike
1896 Chicago Federation of Labor Founded
1900 Flow of Chicago River Reversed
1901 Chicago Freight Tunnels
1902 First Bascule Trunnion Bridge Opens
1903 Iroquois Theater Fire
1904 Ravinia Park Opens
1907 First American Nobel Prize Winner in Science
1907 Cubs Win World Series
1908 Garfield Park Conservatory Opens
1908 Cubs Win World Series
1909 Illinois Supreme Court Rules to Keep Lakefront “Forever Open , Clear and Free”
1909 Water Crib Fire
1910 Comiskey Park Opens
1910 Union Stock Yards Fire
1914 Wrigley Field Built
1915 Eastland Disaster
1917 White Sox Win World Series
1919 Dirigible Balloon Crash
1919 Race Riots
1921 Westinghouse Station KYW Broadcasts Chicago’s First Radio Program
1924 Grant Park Stadium (Soldier Field) Completed
1925 Union Station Completed
1927 Buckingham Fountain Constructed
1927 Municipal Airport of Chicago (Midway) Opened
1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
1929 Chicago Stadium Opens
1930 Shedd Aquarium Officially Opens
1930 Adler Planetarium Founded, First in Western Hemisphere
1930 Merchandise Mart Opens as World’s Largest Building
1931 Jane Addams Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1932 Bears Win NFL Championship
1933 Mayor Anton Cermak Shot and Killed
1933 First Baseball All-Star Game
1933 Museum of Science and Industry Opens
1934 Brookfield Zoo Opens
1934 Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup Championship
1937 Memorial Day Incident at Republic Steel
1938 Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup Championship
1940 Bears Win NFL Championship
1942 First Controlled Atomic Reaction
1943 Bears Win NFL Championship
1943 Chicago’s First Subway Opened
1946 Bears Win NFL Championship
1948 First Issue of Chicago Sun-Times
1958 Our Lady of the Angels School Fire
1959 International Trade Fair Celebrates Opening of St. Lawrence Seaway—Queen Elizabeth’s Visit
1960 Northwest Expressway (John F. Kennedy) Completed
1961 Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup Championship
1961 The Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art (DuSable Museum of African American History) Established
1963 Bears Win NFL Championship
1966 Civic Center Dedicated
1966 Martin Luther King Jr. Marches in Chicago
1967 Major Snowstorm
1967 McCormick Place Fire
1967 Museum of Contemporary Art Founded
1967 Picasso Statue Dedicated in Civic Center Plaza
1968 Democratic National Convention
1971 Union Stock Yard Closes
1972 Shakman Agreement Signed
1972 Chicago Botanic Gardens opens
1972 Crash of United Airlines Flight 553
1973 Sears Tower (later Willis Tower) Completed—Becomes World’s Tallest Building
1975 Deep Tunnel Project Begins
1977 First Running of Chicago Marathon
1979 State Street Mall Opens
1979 Crash of American Airlines Flight 191
1982 First Major City to Ban Sale of Handguns
1982 Chicago Children’s Museum Founded
1985 State of Illinois Center (later James R. Thompson Center) Opens
1986 Bears Win NFL Championship
1987 Museum of Broadcast Communications Opens
1991 Chicago Bulls Win NBA Championship
1991 New Comiskey Park (U.S. Cellular Field) Opens
1992 Freight Tunnel Flood
1992 Chicago Bulls Win NBA Championship
1993 Chicago Bulls Win NBA Championship
1993 Orange Line Opens to Midway Airport
1994 Chicago Hosts World Cup
1994 United Center Opens
1995 Chicago Stadium Demolished
1996 National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum Opens
1996-98 Chicago Bulls Win NBA Championship
1998 Steppenwolf Theatre Company Wins National Medal of the Arts
1998 Chicago Fire Wins MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup
1999 Notebaert Nature Museum Opens
2000 Chicago Fire Wins U.S. Open Cup
2003 Chicago Fire Wins U.S. Open Cup
2003 Meigs Field Closes
2004 Millennium Park Opens
2005 White Sox Sweep World Series
2006 Chicago Fire Wins Open Cup
2007 Chicago Wins Right to Represent US in Bid for 2016 Olympics
2008 President-elect Barack Obama gives acceptance speech in Chicago’s Grant Park
2010 Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup Championship

So ya think ya got clout

Let’s face it: Chicago’s a town where ya gotta have clout to get anything done. Even if you’re one of our finest boys in blue, you still can’t get smack done without knowing somebody who knows somebody. Like they say in New York, fahgetaboudit!

You won’t find any city like Chicago anywhere in the world. That’s right, we got clout. You won’t find any place anywhere where people’s chins are so high in the air as our own, right here in Chi. Why? Cuz we got clout!

Clout isn’t just about who you are, it’s about what you stand for. People change the world here – politics, helping the homeless, illinois animal shelters, all kinds of things. Chicago is a memorable place and once you visit, you won’t ever want to go back to wherever you came from. Because, we got clout.