Portal:Chicago

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Introduction

Chicago (/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ (listen), locally also /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/), officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,705,994 (2018), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States.

Located on the shores of freshwater Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed and grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, the city made a concerted effort to rebuild. The construction boom accelerated population growth throughout the following decades, and by 1900 Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and zoning standards, including new construction styles (including the Chicago School of architecture), the development of the City Beautiful Movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper.

Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It is the site of the creation of the first standardized futures contracts at the Chicago Board of Trade, which today is the largest and most diverse derivatives market globally, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures. O'Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and the region also has the largest number of U.S. highways and greatest amount of railroad freight. In 2012, Chicago was listed as an alpha global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and it ranked seventh in the entire world in the 2017 Global Cities Index. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) in the world, generating $680 billion in 2017. In addition, the city has one of the world's most diversified and balanced economies, not being dependent on any one industry, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce.

edit

Selected article

Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (pictured), the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents. Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson also star. Meet the Parents is a remake of a 1992 film of the same name that Universal Studios purchased the rights to. Jim Herzfeld expanded the original script but development stalled. Jay Roach read the expanded script and asked to direct the film but Universal declined. At that time, Steven Spielberg was interested in directing the film while Jim Carrey was interested in playing the lead role. The studio offered the film to Roach once Spielberg and Carrey left the project. Released in the United States and Canada on October 6, 2000 and distributed by Universal Studios, the film recouped its initial $55 million budget in eleven days. It became one of the highest grossing films of 2000, earning over $160 million in North America and over $330 million worldwide. Meet the Parents received several awards and nominations. Ben Stiller won two comedy awards for his performance and the film was chosen as the Favorite Comedy Motion Picture at the 2001 People's Choice Awards. Meet the Parents inspired the film sequels Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers as well as a reality television show titled Meet My Folks and a situation comedy titled In-Laws.

...Archive/Nominations

More...

Selected images

Daley Plaza with Picasso statue and City Hall in background. State law courts are in the Daley Plaza Building at right
Chicago-style stuffed pizza
The Magnificent Mile hosts numerous upscale stores, as well as landmarks like the Chicago Water Tower
A Chicago jazz club
The former Harpo Studios in West Loop, Chicago was home of The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1986 until 2011 and other Harpo Production operations until 2015.
Downtown Chicago and the Chicago River in January 2014
A satellite image of Chicago
An artist's rendering of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
WGN began in the early days of radio and developed into a multi-platform broadcaster, including a cable television super-station.
Traditional Potawatomi regalia on display at the Field Museum of Natural History
Men outside a soup kitchen during the Great Depression (1931)
Prentice Women's Hospital on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Downtown Campus
Aerial view of Goose Island in the city and the North Branch of the Chicago River, from the south, near sundown
The Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower
Protesters in Grant Park outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention
Replica of Daniel Chester French's Statue of the Republic at the site of the World's Columbian Exposition.
Aerial View of Navy Pier at Night
Carl Sandburg's most famous description of the city is as "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-style hot dog
Buckingham Fountain, looking north in 2005
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The National Hellenic Museum in Greektown is one of several ethnic museums comprising the Chicago Cultural Alliance.
The Chicago Picasso
Chicago Police Department SUV, 2011
Since its completion in 1991, the Harold Washington Library has appeared in Guinness World Records as the largest public library building in the world.
The spire of the Gateway Theatre is modeled on the Royal Castle in Warsaw
Interactive map outlining Chicago
The Chicago Building (1904–05) is a prime example of the Chicago School, displaying both variations of the Chicago window.
Chicago Union Station, opened in 1925, is the third-busiest passenger rail terminal in the United States
Community areas of the City of Chicago
The main hall of the Field Museum of Natural History in 2007, with Sue the T. rex in the foreground
The Chicago Board of Trade Building
Ferries offer sightseeing tours and water-taxi transportation along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.
Willie Dixon
Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears
Greetings from Chicago Mural in Logan Square
Map of racial distribution in Chicago, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other (yellow)
The Chicago Theatre
Chicago Theatre
Chicago Half Marathon on Lake Shore Drive on the South Side.
Court of Honor at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893
Downtown and the North Side with beaches lining the waterfront
Amtrak train on the Empire Builder route departs Chicago from Union Station
Jay Pritzker Pavilion by night
The University of Chicago, as seen from the Midway Plaisance
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs
A Polish market in Chicago
Aerial photo of the Jane Byrne Interchange, opened in the 1960s
O'Hare International Airport

edit

Selected list

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the American League Central division. The White Sox have used 62 Opening Day starting pitchers since they were established as a Major League team in 1901. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season. The White Sox have a record of 58 wins and 52 losses in their Opening Day games. The White Sox have played in three different home ball parks. They had a record of four wins and two losses in Opening Day games at South Side Park, 18 wins and 19 losses at the first Comiskey Park and four wins and one loss at U.S. Cellular Field, for a total home record in Opening Day games of 26 wins and 22 losses. Their record in Opening Day away games is 32 wins and 30 losses. Mark Buehrle holds the record for making the most Opening Day starts for the White Sox, with eight. Billy Pierce had seven Opening Day starts for the White Sox, Wilbur Wood had five, Tommy Thomas and Jack McDowell each had four, and Frank Smith, Jim Scott, Lefty Williams, Sad Sam Jones, Bill Dietrich, Gary Peters and Tommy John each had three. Several Baseball Hall of Famers have made Opening Day starts for the White Sox, including Ed Walsh, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Early Wynn and Tom Seaver. (Read more...)

edit

WikiProjects

What are WikiProjects?

edit

Selected biography

George Lawrence Mikan, Jr. was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Invariably playing with thick, round spectacles, the 6 ft 10 in 245 lb. Mikan is seen as one of the pioneers of professional basketball, redefining it as a game of so-called big men. Mikan had a successful player career, winning seven NBL, BAA and NBA championships, an All-Star MVP trophy, three scoring titles and being member of the first four NBA All-Star and the first six All-BAA and All-NBA Teams. Mikan was so dominant that he caused several rule changes in the NBA, among them widening the foul lane and introducing the shot clock. After his player career, Mikan became one of the founding fathers of the American Basketball Association (ABA), and was also vital for the forming of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his later years, Mikan fought against the meager pensions for players who had retired before the league became lucrative. Mikan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, made the 25th and 35th NBA Anniversary Teams of 1970 and 1980 and was elected one of the NBA 50 Greatest Players in 1996.

...Archive/Nominations

More...

edit

Quote

"Being a [Chicago] Cubs fan prepares you for life—and Washington." — Hillary Clinton

...Archive/Nominations

More...

edit

Selected landmark

Washington Park Court District is a Grand Boulevard community area neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 2, 1991. Despite its name, it is not located within either the Washington Park community area or the Washington Park park, but is one block north of both. The district was named for the Park. The district includes row houses built between 1895 and 1905, with addresses of 4900–4959 South Washington Park Court and 417–439 East 50th Street. Many of the houses share architectural features. The neighborhood was part of the early twentieth century segregationist racial covenant wave that swept Chicago following the Great Migration. The community area has continued to be almost exclusively African American since the 1930s.

...Archive/Nominations

More...

edit

News

Wikinews Chicago, Illinois portal

July 11, 2019 –: American R&B singer R. Kelly is arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges. (NBC News)
July 7, 2019 – 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Mexico wins their eighth Gold Cup, defeating the United States 1–0 in the final match in Chicago. (The Washington Post)