In 1833, the Midwest's largest city was founded, Chicago. It grew to become something Carl Sandburg would later describe asa "Hog butcher, tool maker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads, and freight handler to the nation."
Chicago received her name from the Miami-Illinois people's word "shikaakwa" which means 'wild onion'. It is thought that the Miami-Illinois people gave her this name because of all the wild onions growing around the Chicago River. In 1837, the city reached a population of about 4,000 people and in 1848 it got it's first telegraph and railroad. And later, in 1883, Mark Twain said, "It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago. She outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them." I agree with him. Chicago is always changing and improving and moving forward. Over the years, she's advanced and grown to be a city I'm so proud to call the one I grew up in.
One of the major changes the city underwent was the 1871 Chicago Fire. The fire destroyed a third of the city and left roughly 100,000 people homeless. The initial spark of the fire is unknown but many legends say it to be Ms. O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern in a barn. Luckily, many of the railroads and factories were spared and the city was rebuilt in an amazingly swift pace.
Chicago is known for the Downtown Chicago skyscrapers. My favorite building, even though I've never been through it, is the Sears Tower. Built in 1973 and reaching 1,730 feet high, it is one of the tallest buildings in the world. However, in 2009, Willis Group Holdings bought the building for $1.5 billion and renamed it the Willis Tower. As a local, however, I refuse to call it the new name. To me, it will always be the Sears Tower.
The city is often referred to as "The Windy City". However, it's not called "The Windy City" because of the cold winds that rush off the Lake. According to legends, it's "The Windy City" because of all the hot-air coming from the politicians. The politicians are often deemed "full of hot-air", which isn't always wrong.
Sadly, not everyone thinks of Chicago as the beautiful place I think it to be. This year there have been 474 murders, 50% more than at this point last year and slightly close to the 468 in 2015. For many, this hits close to home and is devastating. I'm not proud of this. There are bad parts of this city but not all of Chicago is violent. People automatically assume that Chicago is full of gang violence, murders, gun shots and bad neighborhoods. And yes, in certain areas there are those things and it's terrible, especially for the families who have to live through it and endure it daily. There are parts of Chicago I grew up knowing to not go to at all. When people call Chicago "Chiraq", I feel terrible for the people where that is a reality. For me it never was. Chicago is more than that and is a beautiful place to live.
Chicagoans are great people. And we make some pretty good food too: most commonly known for our deep-dish pizza, Italian beef, and the Classical Chicago-style hotdog. A great place to sample these foods and many others is the annual Taste of Chicago. I've only been once, but it was an amazing experience and truly something to see.
Chicago is a great place to live. Rich with so much history, I'm proud to call it my home. Through the flaws and the rough spots, I will always love this city.
Some Chicago slang:
"The Lake"- Lake Michigan
"Pop" - soft drink, do not call it soda here
"Gym shoes "- running shoes
"The Trib" - The Chicago Tribune Newspaper
"Front room"/ "Frucnhroom" - Living room
"One, two, tree" - instead of one, two, three
"Washroom" - bathroom/restroom
"The Zoo" - Lincoln Park Zoo
"The Jewels" - You're local, friendly Jewel-Osco grocery store
"The Sox" - Chicago White Sox
"Cubbies" - The Chicago Cubs
"Da Bears" - The Chicago Bears
"The Hawks" - The Chicago Blackhawks
"Chicago Mix" - The Caramel and Cheddar Popcorn mix
"Bags" - A game of beanbags
"Grachki" -(grace'-key) garage key
"Braht" - Bratwurst
"Guys" - refers to any two or more people, regardless of one's gender
"Ma" - Mom
"The Taste" - The Taste of Chicago
"Lala"- Lalapalooza
"Downtown"- Anywhere near The Lake, South of The Zoo, and North of Solider Field
