70-535: The Hyde Park House was a four-story wood frame upscale hotel in Chicago , built and run by Paul Cornell , that served as the centerpiece for Hyde Park social life from 1857 until 1879. It was located on 53rd Street adjacent to Lake Michigan on land currently occupied by the Hampton House . Cornell successfully marketed Hyde Park as an affluent suburb and resort area. Hyde Park retained this image until
140-403: A Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics . In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County. By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known as white flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond
210-495: A heart attack soon after. Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderperson Eugene Sawyer , who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election. Richard M. Daley , son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives for sustainable development , as well as closing Meigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying
280-586: A high-grade radio in 1928, and grew into Scott Radio Laboratories ; this was located at 4450 Ravenswood Avenue in 1946, and produced "very expensive, beautifully-designed, chrome-plated chassis". It added "a line of high-quality television sets in 1949". Other entrants in this business were Zenith , which started life there in 1918, entering auto radios in the 1930s, and Galvin Manufacturing Corporation , which started manufacturing power supplies in 1928 and went on to automobile radios under
350-665: A model for the new field of social work . During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics of cholera , smallpox , and yellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states. The city established many large, well-landscaped municipal parks , which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago
420-479: A new grade with the use of jackscrews for raising buildings. While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River , and subsequently into Lake Michigan , polluting the city's primary freshwater source. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs . In 1900,
490-477: A population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 census , it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles . As the seat of Cook County , the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area , often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan , Chicago
560-407: Is known to botanists as Allium tricoccum and known more commonly as "ramps". The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as " Checagou " was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir. Henri Joutel , in his journal of 1688, noted that the eponymous wild "garlic" grew profusely in the area. According to his diary of late September 1687: ... when we arrived at
630-554: Is routinely ranked among the world's top six busiest airports by passenger traffic , and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, generating $ 689 billion in 2018. Chicago's economy is diverse , with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. Chicago is a major destination for tourism , including visitors to its cultural institutions , and Lake Michigan beaches . Chicago's culture has contributed much to
700-479: The Black Belt . While home loan discriminatory redlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known as blockbusting , completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods. Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in
770-719: The Calumet River in the industrial far South Side—flow either entirely or partially through the city. Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's waterborne cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's Lake Calumet Harbor on the South Side. The lake also provides another positive effect: moderating Chicago's climate, making waterfront neighborhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer. When Chicago
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#1732786566994840-711: The Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), and NYSE Arca . While the city of Chicago houses most of the major brokerage firms in the area, some insurance companies are in the suburbs, such as Allstate Corporation . In the 2020 Global Financial Centres Index , Chicago was ranked as having
910-655: The Chicago metropolitan area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index ; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the residential real estate market. Source : Fortune 500 2017 The city houses one of the Federal Reserve Banks , established in 1914. There is also the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago . The largest banks in
980-599: The Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy . The Chicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were called futures contracts . In
1050-584: The Illinois River . In 1819, Charles H. Beaubien was brought in to assist Kinzie and eventually became head of the outfit. Gurdon S. Hubbard replaced Deschamps in 1823 but soon went on his own by purchasing all interests of the company in Illinois . Late in the 19th century, Chicago was part of the bicycle craze, as home to Western Wheel Company , which introduced stamping to the production process and significantly reduced costs, while early in
1120-542: The Jefferson Township , which now makes up most of Chicago's Northwest Side . The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents. Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States . Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in
1190-511: The Miami , Sauk and Meskwaki peoples in this region. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was trader Jean Baptiste Point du Sable . Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago." In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in
1260-600: The Motorola marque in 1930, as well as Walkie-talkie and Handie-Talkie and for the Army. During World War II, the steel mills in the city of Chicago alone accounted for 20% of all steel production in the United States and 10% of global production. The city produced more steel than the United Kingdom during the war, and surpassed Nazi Germany's output in 1943 (after barely missing in 1942). Some mills were located on
1330-592: The New Negro Movement , in art, literature, and music. Continuing racial tensions and violence, such as the Chicago race riot of 1919 , also occurred. The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition
1400-836: The Northwest Indian War , an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with the Treaty of Greenville . In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn , which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt. After the War of 1812, the Ottawa , Ojibwe , and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to
1470-469: The University of Chicago , Northwestern University , and the University of Illinois Chicago , among other institutions of learning . Professional sports in Chicago include all major professional leagues , including two Major League Baseball teams. The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the indigenous Miami–Illinois word shikaakwa for a wild relative of the onion ; it
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#17327865669941540-698: The Washington and Jackson Parks. During World War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the Southern United States . Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903. This Great Migration had an immense cultural impact, called the Chicago Black Renaissance , part of
1610-494: The 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals. In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North American time zones . This system for telling time spread throughout the continent. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at
1680-477: The 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of Senator Stephen Douglas , the champion of the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery. These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln , to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the 1860 Republican National Convention , which
1750-505: The 1930s. The hotel not only served as host to affluent Chicagoans with leisure time and discretionary income, but also served as host to visiting dignitaries. Mary Todd Lincoln brought her sons, Robert and Tad , there after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln where they stayed for two and half months before moving downtown. It also served as host to Prince of Wales , Albert Edward during his 1860 visit to Chicago. The hotel also served as lodging for those studying new home sites in
1820-623: The 1990s and 2000s, and the US Dept of Commerce estimates that today fewer than 25,000 people are employed in the steel industry in the Chicago–Joliet–Naperville, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (18,000 of whom are actually in Northwest Indiana. In 1945, US Steel was Chicago's largest single employer, with 18,000 workers at the company's South Works. Massive amounts of goods passed through Chicago from places in
1890-602: The 20th century, the city was part of the automobile revolution, hosting the brass era car builder Bugmobile , which was founded there in 1907. It was also home to Grigsby-Grunow , which manufactured radios under the Majestic brand until the company failed in 1934. ( Majestic Radio and Television Corporation preserved the Majestic name, while General Household Utilities kept Grunow alive.) Chicago also hosted E. H. Scott's Scott Transformer Company , which introduced
1960-417: The 20th most competitive financial center in the world and sixth-most competitive in the United States (after New York City , San Francisco , Los Angeles , Boston , and Washington, D.C. ). According to Reboot Illinois, the largest employers in the city of Chicago are: Before it was incorporated as a town in 1833, the primary industry was fur trading. In the 1790s, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable ,
2030-781: The 57th mayor of Chicago. Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in the Chicago Metropolitan Area , situated in both the Midwestern United States and the Great Lakes region . The city rests on a continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds . In addition to it lying beside Lake Michigan, two rivers—the Chicago River in downtown and
2100-455: The Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat . From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis
2170-478: The Chicago region (by % of deposits) are: JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America (through its acquisition of LaSalle Bank ), BMO Harris Bank (a BMO subsidiary), and Northern Trust . The largest banks headquartered in Chicago are: BMO Harris Bank , Northern Trust , Wintrust Financial , and First Midwest Bank . Many financial institutions are in the Loop . Chicago has five major financial exchanges , including
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2240-535: The Mississippi River. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. Much of the city, including railroads and stockyards , survived intact, and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction. During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed
2310-544: The Mississippi Valley such as St. Louis, Missouri . Grain was stored in Chicago, and people began buying contracts on it. Later, people as far away as New York City began buying contracts by telegraph on the goods that would be stored in Chicago in the future. From this were established the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and the modern systems in use today for futures and commodity trading . Chicago has produced many of
2380-578: The South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards. On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi conducted the world's first controlled nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project . This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used in World War II in 1945. Mayor Richard J. Daley ,
2450-624: The United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis . The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and sent west of the Mississippi River as part of the federal policy of Indian removal . On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago
2520-787: The United States of foreign parentage. Germans , Irish , Poles , Swedes , and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population). Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike . Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. Programs that were developed there became
2590-414: The area's first resident and Haitian -born fur trader, established a fur trading post in the area, which later became known as Fort Dearborn , along the bank of the Chicago River , where he traded until relocating again in 1800. The American Fur Company , established in 1808 by John Jacob Astor to compete with the powerful Canadian North West and Hudson Bay companies, practically took control of
2660-516: The branches of the Chicago River emanating from the downtown area, but the largest mills were located along the Calumet River and Lake Calumet in the far south of the city. Over 200,000 people were employed in the steel industry at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but mass layoffs in the 1970s and 1980s devastated many working class south side neighborhoods that were heavily dependent on industrial jobs. Downsizing and plant closures continued into
2730-565: The city include the central business district, called the Loop , and the North, South , and West Sides . The three sides of the city are represented on the Flag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes. The North Side is the most-densely-populated residential section of the city, and many high-rises are located on this side of the city along the lakefront. The South Side is the largest section of
2800-545: The city was affected by a series of tenant rent strikes , which lead to the formation of the Chicago Tenants Protective association, passage of the Kessenger tenant laws, and of a heat ordinance that legally required flats to be kept above 68 °F during winter months by landlords. Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924,
2870-760: The city with 35, still second to New York City. The 92-story Trump Tower Chicago , Lakeshore East development, and the 300 North Lasalle office building are projects completed after 2000. Since the Great Recession , other projects, such as the planned 150-story 2000 foot Chicago Spire by architect Santiago Calatrava , have been canceled. Many city neighborhoods are gentrifying at a rapid pace as well, including Humboldt Park , Logan Square , Pilsen, Uptown, Near Southside, and Rogers Park. The massive expansion of O'Hare International Airport and recently reconstructed Dan Ryan Expressway will shape development patterns for years to come. Changes in house prices for
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2940-724: The city's economy. The total economic output of Chicago in gross metropolitan product totaled US$ 770.7 billion in 2020, surpassing the total economic output of Switzerland and making Chicago's gross metropolitan product (GMP) the third largest in the United States, The city is home to several Fortune 500 companies, including Archer Daniels Midland , Conagra Brands , Exelon , JLL , Kraft Heinz , McDonald's , Mondelez International , Motorola Solutions , Sears , and United Airlines Holdings , although Chicago has experienced an exodus of large corporations since 2020, including Boeing ; Citadel LLC ; Caterpillar ; and Tyson Foods . Three Fortune 500 companies left Chicago in 2022, leaving
3010-415: The city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019. All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk was Anna Valencia and the city treasurer was Melissa Conyears-Ervin . On May 15, 2023, Brandon Johnson assumed office as
3080-424: The city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-ridden Cabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of
3150-498: The city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The South Side contains most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago . Economy of Chicago Employment Chicago and its suburbs is home to 35 Fortune 500 companies and is a transportation and distribution center. Manufacturing , printing , publishing , insurance , transportation, financial trading and services, and food processing also play major roles in
3220-527: The convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower , which in 1974 became the world's tallest building ), University of Illinois at Chicago , McCormick Place , and O'Hare International Airport , were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. In 1979, Jane Byrne ,
3290-477: The development of the City Beautiful movement , and the steel-framed skyscraper . Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture , commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation . It has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport
3360-483: The district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power. The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $ 1.95 billion. On February 23, 2011, Rahm Emanuel , a former White House Chief of Staff and member of the House of Representatives , won the mayoral election. Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015. Lori Lightfoot ,
3430-475: The fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. During World War II , the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more than Nazi Germany from 1943 – 1945. The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave , as hundreds of thousands of blacks from
3500-1014: The foremost industrialists, corporate lawyers, merchants, and financiers in United States history. Among the foremost of the Chicago industrialists, lawyers, financiers, and merchants were John Villiers Farwell , Edmund Dick Taylor , Potter Palmer , George Pullman , Charles Gray , Marshall Field , Richard Teller Crane , Martin Ryerson , John Jacob Glessner , Jacob Bunn , John Whitfield Bunn , John Graves Shedd , Cyrus Hall McCormick , Edward Avery Shedd , Charles Banks Shedd , Leander McCormick , Stanley Field , Charles Deering , James Deering , Robert Law , Francis Peabody , Leonard Richardson , Milo Barnum Richardson , Joseph Edward Otis , Frank Hatch Jones , Arthur Jerome Eddy , Arthur J. Caton , Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank , Ezra Butler McCagg , Julius Rosenwald , Morris Selz , Harry Selz , William McCormick Blair , William Douglas Richardson , Charles Farwell , James Monroe Stryker and Jon Stryker of
3570-500: The fur trade in the United States following the War of 1812 . It quickly became known for its ruthless practice of buying out or destroying the competition, as most private traders in Chicago soon found out. It appointed John Kinzie and Antoine Deschamps as its first agents in northern Illinois , and they reported to the company's headquarters on Mackinac Island . Their field of operations covered northeastern Illinois and
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#17327865669943640-451: The lowest points are along the lake shore at 578 ft (176.2 m), while the highest point, at 672 ft (205 m), is the morainal ridge of Blue Island in the city's far south side. Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's waterfront. Some of the parks along the waterfront include Lincoln Park , Grant Park , Burnham Park , and Jackson Park . There are 24 public beaches across 26 miles (42 km) of
3710-506: The present location of Jackson Park . The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influential world's fair in history. The University of Chicago , formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance , a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects
3780-550: The problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to the Illinois River , which flows into
3850-435: The region and for those overseeing new residential construction. 41°47′58″N 87°34′58″W / 41.79944°N 87.58278°W / 41.79944; -87.58278 This article related to a building or structure in Chicago is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Chicago Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States . With
3920-593: The runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term. In 1992, a construction accident near the Kinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of an abandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtown Loop district. The tunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m ) of water, affecting buildings throughout
3990-615: The said place called "Chicagou" which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region. The city has had several nicknames throughout its history, such as the Windy City , Chi-Town, Second City, and City of the Big Shoulders. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi , an indigenous tribe who had succeeded
4060-587: The steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Raby led the Chicago Freedom Movement , which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders. Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention , which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside
4130-562: The unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side. In 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was fatally wounded in Miami, Florida , during a failed assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1933 and 1934, the city celebrated its centennial by hosting the Century of Progress International Exposition World's Fair . The theme of
4200-649: The visual arts, literature , film, theater , comedy (especially improvisational comedy ), food , dance, and music (particularly jazz , blues , soul , hip-hop , gospel , and electronic dance music , including house music ). Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago , while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school . The Chicago area also hosts
4270-664: The waterfront. Landfill extends into portions of the lake providing space for Navy Pier , Northerly Island , the Museum Campus , and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings are close to the waterfront. An informal name for the entire Chicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs, though different organizations have slightly different definitions. Major sections of
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#17327865669944340-539: The world's first skyscraper in 1885, using steel-skeleton construction. The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including the Hyde Park Township , which now comprises most of the South Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and
4410-431: Was John H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago. In
4480-472: Was called the Society for Human Rights . It produced the first American publication for homosexuals, Friendship and Freedom . Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband. The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of
4550-462: Was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. The overall grade of the city's central, built-up areas is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation is 579 ft (176.5 m) above sea level . While measurements vary somewhat,
4620-578: Was held in a purpose-built auditorium called the Wigwam . He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for the American Civil War . To accommodate rapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approved Chesbrough 's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system. The project raised much of central Chicago to
4690-410: Was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed . It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture , such as the Chicago School ,
4760-414: Was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837, and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city. As the site of the Chicago Portage , the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad , and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on
4830-402: Was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters , including Al Capone , Dion O'Banion , Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era . Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran. From 1920 to 1921,
4900-411: Was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago. Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, with Unemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers,
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