City of Chicago
Flag Seal
Nickname: "The Windy City", "The Second City", "The White City", "Chi-Town", "Hog Butcher for the World", "City of the Big Shoulders", "The Chi", "The City That Works"
Motto: "Urbs in Horto" (Latin: "City in a Garden"), Make No Small Plans, "I Will"[1]
Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois
Coordinates: 41°52'55?N 87°37'40?W? / ?41.88194, -87.62778
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Cook, DuPage
Settled	1770s
Incorporated	March 4, 1837
Government
- Mayor	Richard M. Daley (D)
Area
- City	237.0 sq mi (606.2 km²)
- Land	227.2 sq mi (588.3 km²)
- Water	6.9 sq mi (17.9 km²)  3.0%
- Urban	2,122.8 sq mi (5,498.1 km²)
- Metro	10,874 sq mi (28,163 km²)
Elevation	586 ft (179 m)
Population (2006)
- City	2,833,321 (US: 3rd)
- Density	12,470/sq mi (4,816/km²)
- Urban	8,711,000
- Metro	9,505,747
- Demonym	Chicagoan
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Website: egov.cityofchicago.org

Chicago (IPA: /??'k??go?/) is the largest city in the state of Illinois, the largest in the Midwest, and, with a population of nearly 3 million people located almost entirely in Cook County (a portion of the city's O'Hare International Airport overlaps into DuPage County), is the third-most populous city in the United States. The Chicago metropolitan area (commonly referred to as Chicagoland) has a population of over 9.7 million people in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, making it also the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S.^[2] Adjacent to Lake Michigan, it is the largest city located on the Great Lakes and among the world's twenty-five largest urban areas by population. Chicago has been classified as an alpha world city for its worldwide economic and cultural influence.^[3]

Incorporated as a city in 1837 after being founded in 1833 at the site of a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed, it soon became a major transportation hub in North America and quickly became the business and financial capital of the American Midwest. Since the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, it has been regarded as one of the ten most influential cities in the world. ^[4] Among the field's where its influence has been seen are physics where Chicago Pile-1 served as the world's first artificial nuclear reactor and architecture where it has contributed Chicago school architecture and it boast some of the world's tallest buildings (Sears Tower, Aon Center, and Hancock Center) and some of the tallest skyscrapers under construction (Chicago Spire and Trump International Hotel and Tower). The University of Chicago is a leader in many fields and has contributed its own Chicago schools such as Chicago school economics.

Today, Chicago boasts a rich diversity of cultural offerings: teams from each of the major league sports (Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, and White Sox), a financial district anchored by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange located at the foot of LaSalle Street in the Chicago Board of Trade Building, the shopping of the Magnificent Mile, a blossoming Theatre district, a thriving arts culture anchored by the Art Institute of Chicago and bolstered by the modern offerings of the Millennium Park and a unique cuisine that has brought the world Chicago-style pizza. Noted among Chicago Landmarks are Wrigley Field, and Buckingham Fountain. The Magnificent Mile is a fitting tribute for a city that has revolutionized retail merchandising with Aaron Montgomery Ward perfecting mail order catalogs and Marshall Field inventing the money-back guarantee, bridal registry and being the first to use posted prices on goods.

Chicago is served by two major international airports, Chicago Midway International Airport and O'Hare International Airport (the world's second busiest in terms of passengers) as well as the internationally recognized Chicago 'L' system of heavy rail rapid transit. Chicago was once the capital of the railroad industry and the nation's meatpacking was hubbed at the Union Stock Yards. Chicago has seen illegal corruption of Al Capone and has a history of Chicago-style politics which goes back to getting Abraham Lincoln nominated for to be United States President at the Wigwam and continued through the Cook County Democratic Organization run by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. More recent Democrats from Cook County include the first African-American female United States Senator, Carol Mosley-Braun, and the first leading African-American United States Presidential contender, Senator Barack Obama.

[edit] History

Main articles: History of Chicago, Political history of Chicago, Windy City, Origin of Name (Chicago), and List of mayors of Chicago

Chicago seen from Spot satellite

The name "Chicago" is the French rendering of the Miami-Illinois name shikaakwa, meaning “wild leek”.^[5][6][7] Etymologically, the sound /shikaakwa/ in Miami-Illinois literally means 'striped skunk', and was a reference to wild leek, or the smell of onions.^[6] The name was initially applied to the river, but later came to denote what is presently the site of city. The sound Chicago is said^[who?] to be the result of a French mis-transcription of the original sound by Louis Hennepin, a Catholic priest, missionary and explorer, who in 1683 first placed the place name 'Chicago' on a map.^{[citation needed]}

During the mid-18th century the area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who had taken the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples. The first settler in Chicago, Haitian Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, arrived in the 1770s, married a Potawatomi woman, and founded the area’s first trading post. In 1803 the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in the 1812 Fort Dearborn massacre. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi later ceded the land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of 350. Within seven years it grew to a population of over 4,000. The City of Chicago was incorporated on March 4, 1837.

The city began its step toward regional primacy as an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Begun in 1836, Chicago’s first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, opened in 1848, a year which also marked the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought many new residents from rural communities as well as immigrants from abroad. The city’s manufacturing and retail sectors became dominant among Midwestern cities and subsequently influenced the American economy, particularly in meatpacking, with the advent of the refrigerated rail car and the regional centrality of the city's Union Stock Yards.^[8]

During its first century as a city, Chicago grew at a rate that ranked among the fastest growing in the world. Within the span of forty years, the city's population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million by 1890. By the close of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world,^[9] and the largest of the cities that didn't exist at the dawn of the century. Within fifty years of the Chicago Fire, the population had tripled to over 3 million.^[10]

Artist's rendering of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

In February of 1856, the Chesbrough plan for the building of Chicago’s (and indeed the United States’) first comprehensive sewerage system was approved by the Common Council;^[11] a project that necessitated the physical raising of much of central Chicago to a new grade. Untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the Chicago River, thence into Lake Michigan, polluting the primary source of fresh water for the city. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs. Nonetheless, spring rains continued to carry polluted water as far out as the water intakes. In 1900, the problem of sewage was largely resolved when Chicago undertook an innovative engineering feat. The city actually reversed the flow of the river, a process that started with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and completed with the finishing of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal) leading to the Illinois River which joins the Mississippi River.

The Chicago Water Tower, one of the few surviving buildings after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire central business district, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth.^[12] During Chicago's rebuilding period, the world's first skyscraper was constructed in 1885 using steel-skeleton construction.

In 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of Jackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered among the most influential world's fairs in history.^[13] The University of Chicago had been founded one year earlier in 1892 on the same South Side location. 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 Washington and Jackson Parks.

The city was the site of labor conflicts and unrest during this period, which included the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886. Concern for social problems among Chicago’s lower classes led Jane Addams to be a co-founder of Hull House in 1889, the first of what were called settlement houses. Programs developed there became a model for the new field of social work. The city also invested in many large, well-landscaped municipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities.

The 1920s brought notoriety to Chicago as gangsters, including the notorious Al Capone, battled each other and law enforcement on the city streets during the Prohibition era. The 1920s also saw a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Arriving in the tens of thousands during the Great Migration, the cultural impact of the newcomers was immense. It was during this wave that Chicago became a center for jazz, with King Oliver leading the way.^[14]

In 1933, Mayor Anton Cermak was assassinated while in Miami with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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.

The Sears Tower, at 108 Stories, stands as Chicago's tallest building since its completion in 1974 and is the tallest free standing structure in the United States.

Mayor Richard J. Daley was elected in 1955, in the era of machine politics. Starting in the 1960s, many upper- and middle-class citizens started leaving the city for the suburbs, as was the case in many cities across the country. It took the heart out of many residential neighborhoods, leaving impoverished and disadvantaged citizens behind. Structural changes in industry caused heavy losses of jobs for lower skilled workers.

The city hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, including full-scale police riots in city streets. Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (which in 1974 became the world’s tallest building), McCormick Place, and O'Hare Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. When he died, Michael Anthony Bilandic was mayor for three years. His loss in a primary election has been attributed to the city’s inability to properly plow city streets during a heavy snowstorm. In 1979, Jane Byrne, the city’s first female mayor, was elected. She popularized the city as a movie location and tourist destination.

In 1983 Harold Washington became the first African American to be elected to the office of mayor, in one of the closest mayoral elections in Chicago. After Washington won the Democratic primary, racial motivations caused Democratic alderman and ward committeemen to back the Republican candidate Bernard Epton, who ran on the slogan Before it’s too late, a thinly veiled appeal to fear.^[15] Washington’s term in office saw new attention given to poor and minority neighborhoods. His administration reduced the longtime dominance of city contracts and employment by ethnic whites.

Current mayor Richard M. Daley, son of the late Richard J. Daley, was first elected in 1989. He has led many progressive changes to the city, including improving parks; creating incentives for sustainable development, including green roofs; and major new developments. Since the 1990s, the city has undergone a revitalization in which some lower class neighborhoods have been transformed into pricey neighborhoods as new middle class residents have settled in the city.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Chicago

[edit] Topography

Aerial view of downtown Chicago looking north during winter.

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. Chicago's official geographic coordinates are 41°53'0?N, 87°39'0?W. It sits on the continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. The city lies beside Lake Michigan, and two rivers — the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side — flow entirely or partially through Chicago. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.

When Chicago was founded in the 1830s, most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks.^[16] According to the U.S. Census Bureau Chicago has a total area of 234.0 square miles (606.1 km²), of which 227.1 square miles (588.3 km²) is land and 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²) (2.94%) is water.

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 land is 579 feet (176 m) above sea level. The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet (176 m), while the highest point at 735 feet (224 m) is a landfill located in the Hegewisch community area on the city's far south side ( 41°39'18?N, 87°34'44?W).

	Elk Grove Village	Milwaukee	Lake Michigan	v • d • e
	Oak Park		Lake Michigan
		Chicago
	Aurora, Illinois	Calumet City	Gary, Indiana

[edit] Lake Michigan

Main Article: Lake Michigan

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse

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 maritime cargo, today's huge lake freighters use the city's far south Lake Calumet Harbor. The Lake also moderates Chicago's climate, making it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's lakefront. Parks along the lakeshore include Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park and Jackson Park; 29 public beaches are found all along the shore. Near downtown, landfills extend into the Lake, providing space for the Jardine Water Purification Plant, Navy Pier, the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and large portions of the McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings can be found within a few blocks of the Lake.

[edit] Climate

Main article: Climate of Chicago

The city lies within the humid continental climate zone (Koppen Dfa), and experiences four distinct seasons. In July, typically the warmest month, high temperatures average 84.9 °F (29.4 °C) and low temperatures 65.8 °F (18.8 °C). In January, typically the coldest month, high temperatures average 31.5 °F (-0.3 °C) with low temperatures averaging 17.1 °F (-8.3 °C). According to the National Weather Service, Chicago’s highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on July 17, 1995. The lowest temperature of -27 °F (-33 °C) was recorded on January 20, 1985.

Chicago’s yearly precipitation averages about 34 inches. Summer is typically the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods.^[17] Winter precipitation tends to be more snow than rain. Chicago's snowiest winter on record was that of 1929–30, with 114.2 inches (290 cm) of snow in total. Chicago’s highest one-day rainfall total was 6.49 inches (164 mm), on August 14, 1987.

[edit] Cityscape

A panoramic view of the Chicago Skyline stretching from Shedd Aquarium to Navy Pier taken from Adler Planetarium. .

[edit] Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Chicago

See also: List of tallest buildings in Chicago and List of Chicago Landmarks

Buildings lining the Chicago River.

The outcome of the Great Chicago Fire led to the largest building boom in the history of the nation. Perhaps the most outstanding of these events was the relocation of many of the nation's most prominent architects to the city from New England for construction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Many architects including Burnham, Root, Adler and Sullivan went on to design other well known Chicago landmarks because of the Exposition.

Looking north from the North Michigan Avenue Bridge on Chicago's 'Magnificent Mile'. The Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower are in the foreground with the John Hancock Center in the distance.

In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building rose in Chicago ushering in the skyscraper era.^[19] Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest.^[20] Downtown's historic buildings include the Chicago Board of Trade Building in the Loop, with others along the lakefront and the Chicago River. Once first on the list of largest buildings in the world and still listed thirteenth, the Merchandise Mart stands near the junction of the north and south river branches. Presently the three tallest in the city are the Sears Tower, the Aon Center (previously the Standard Oil Building), and the John Hancock Center. The city's architecture includes lakefront high-rise residential towers, low-rise structures, and single-family homes. Industrialized areas such as the Indiana border, south of Midway Airport, and the banks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are clustered.

One Prudential Plaza, Two Prudential Plaza and the Aon Center from Millennium Park.

Future skyline plans entail the supertall Waterview Tower, Chicago Spire, and Trump International Hotel and Tower. The 60602 zip code was named by Forbes as the hottest zip code in the country with upscale buildings such as The Heritage at Millennium Park (130 N. Garland) leading the way for other buildings such at Waterview Tower, The Legacy and Momo. Other new skyscraper construction may be found directly south (South Loop) and north (River North) of the Loop.

Every kind and scale of houses, townhouses, condominiums and apartment buildings can be found in Chicago. Large swaths of Chicago's residential areas away from the lake are characterized by bungalows built either during the early 20th century or after World War II. Chicago is a center of the Polish Cathedral style of church architecture.

[edit] Neighborhoods

Main article: Neighborhoods of Chicago

Chicago is partitioned into four main sections: Downtown (which contains the Loop), the North Side, the South Side, and the West Side. In the late 1920s sociologists at the University of Chicago subdivided the city into 77 distinct community areas. The boundaries of these areas are more clearly defined than those of the over 210 neighborhoods throughout the city, allowing for better year-by-year comparisons.

[edit] Downtown and The Loop

Main article: Chicago Loop

The downtown area, lying somewhat roughly between Division Street on the north, Lake Michigan on the east, Roosevelt Road on the south and DesPlaines Avenue on the west, serves as the city's commercial hub. The area known as The Loop, is a portion of downtown named for it once having been located within a circuit of cable cars. Today the name reflects the elevated train Loop, which connects — either directly or indirectly — to every line in the CTA rapid transit system. Some of downtown's commercial, cultural, and financial institutions are located in the Loop.

[edit] North Side

The city's North Side (extending north of downtown along the lakefront) is the most densely populated residential section of the city. It contains public parkland and beaches stretching for miles along Lake Michigan to the city's northern border. Much of the North Side has benefited from an economic boom which began in the 1990s. For example, the River North area, located just north of the Chicago River and the Loop, has undergone a transition from a warehouse district to an active commercial, residential, and entertainment hub, featuring the nation's largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of Manhattan. Just north of River North's galleries and bistros, demolition of the CHA's Cabrini-Green housing project began in 2003, being replaced by upscale townhomes.^[21]

[edit] South Side

Main article: South Side (Chicago)

The South Side (extending south of downtown along Lake Michigan) is the largest section of the city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The section along the lake is marked with public parkland and beaches. The South Side has a higher ratio of single-family homes and also contains most of the city's industry.

Along with being the largest section of the city in terms of geography, the South Side is also home to two of the city's largest parades: the annual Bud Billiken Day parade, which is held during the second weekend of August and celebrates children returning to school, and the South Side Irish Parade, which is always held the Sunday prior to Saint Patrick's Day, unless the holiday falls on a Sunday in which case the parade is held that day.

The South Side has two of Chicago's largest public parks. Jackson Park, which hosted the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, is currently the site of the Museum of Science and Industry. The park stretches along the lakefront, linking the neighborhoods of Hyde Park and South Shore. Washington Park, which is connected to Jackson Park by the Midway Plaisance, is currently being considered as the primary site of the Olympic Stadium for the 2016 Summer Olympics if Chicago wins the bid.

[edit] West Side

The West Side (extending west of downtown) is made up of neighborhoods such as Austin, Lawndale, Garfield Park, West Town, and Humboldt Park among others. Some neighborhoods, particularly Garfield Park and Lawndale, have socio-economic problems including urban decay and crime. Other West Side neighborhoods, especially those closer to downtown, have been experiencing a rise in property value.

Major parks on the West Side include Douglas Park, Garfield Park, and Humboldt Park. Garfield Park Conservatory houses one of the largest collections of tropical plants of any U.S. city. Cultural attractions on the West Side include Humboldt Park's Puerto Rican Day festival, and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen.

[edit] Parks

Main article: Parks of Chicago

Portage Park on the Northwest side

When Chicago incorporated in 1837 it chose the motto "Urbs in Horto" a Latin phrase which translates into English as "City in a Garden", and today the Chicago Park District consists of 552 parks with over 7,300 acres (30 km²) of municipal parkland as well as 33 beaches, nine museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons and 10 bird and wildlife gardens. Lincoln Park, the largest of these parks has over 20 million visitors each year, making it second only to Central Park in New York City.^[22] Nine lakefront harbors located within a number of parks along the lakefront render the Chicago Park District the nation's largest municipal harbor system. In addition to ongoing beautification and renewal projects for existing parks, a number of new parks have been added in recent years such as Ping Tom Memorial Park, DuSable Park and most notably Millennium Park. The wealth of greenspace afforded by Chicago's parks is further augmented by the Cook County Forest Preserves, a network of open spaces containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are set aside as natural areas which lie along the city's periphery which are also home to both the Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo.

[edit] Culture and contemporary life

Main article: Culture of Chicago

The city's waterfront allure and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over one-third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods (from Rogers Park in the north to Hyde Park in the south). The North Side has a large gay and lesbian community. Two North Side neighborhoods in particular, Lakeview and the Andersonville area of the Edgewater neighborhood, are home to many LGBT businesses and organizations. The area adjacent to the North Side intersection of Halsted and Belmont is a gay neighborhood known to Chicagoans as "Boys Town". The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These include "Greektown" on South Halsted, "Little Italy" on Taylor Street, just west of Halsted, "Chinatown" on the near South Side, "Little Seoul" on and around Lawrence Avenue, a cluster of Vietnamese restaurants on Argyle Street and South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) on Devon Avenue.

[edit] Entertainment and performing arts

See also: Theatre in Chicago and Category:Music venues in Chicago

A Chicago jazz club

Chicago’s theatre community spawned modern improvisational theatre.^[23] Two renowned comedy troupes emerged — The Second City and I.O. (formerly known as ImprovOlympic). Renowned Chicago theater companies include the Steppenwolf Theatre Company (on the city's north side), the Goodman Theatre, and the Victory Gardens Theater. Chicago offers Broadway-style entertainment at theatres such as Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, LaSalle Bank Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University, and Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place. Polish language productions for Chicago's large Polish speaking population can be seen at the historic Gateway Theatre in Jefferson Park. Since 1968, the Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area.

Classical music offerings include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, which performs at Symphony Center. In the summer, many outdoor concerts are given in Grant Park and Millennium Park. Ravinia Park, located 25 miles (40 km) north of Chicago, is also a favorite destination for many Chicagoans, with performances occasionally given in Chicago locations such as the Harris Theater. The Civic Opera House is home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Festival Ballet perform in various venues, including the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Chicago is home to several other modern and jazz dance troupes, such as the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Other live music genre which are part of the city's cultural heritage include Chicago blues, Chicago soul, jazz, and gospel. The city is the birthplace of house music and is the site of an influential hip-hop scene. In the 1980s, the city was a center for industrial, punk and new wave. This influence continued into the alternative rock of the 1990s. The city has been an epicenter for rave culture since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicago indie. Annual festivals feature various acts such as Lollapalooza, the Intonation Music Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival.

Many notable celebrities and entertainment figures are associated with Chicago. (For listing see List of people from Chicago).

[edit] Tourism

Navy Pier.

Chicago attracted a combined 44.17 million people in 2006 from around the nation and abroad.^[24] Upscale shopping along the Magnificent Mile, thousands of restaurants, as well as Chicago's eminent architecture, continue to draw tourists. The city is the United States' third-largest convention destination.^[25] Most conventions are held at McCormick Place, just south of Soldier Field.

Navy Pier, 3,000 feet (900 m) long, houses retail, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls, and auditoriums. Its 150-foot (46 m) tall Ferris wheel is north of Grant Park on the lakefront and is one of the most visited landmarks in the Midwest, attracting about 8 million people annually.^[26]

Crown Fountain.

The historic Chicago Cultural Center (1897), originally serving as the Chicago Public Library, now houses the city's Visitor Information Center, galleries, and exhibit halls. The ceiling of Preston Bradley Hall includes a 38-foot (11 m) Tiffany glass dome.

Millennium Park, initially slated to be unveiled at the turn of the 21st century, and delayed for several years, sits on a deck built over a portion of the former Illinois Central rail yard. The park includes the reflective Cloud Gate sculpture (known locally as "The Bean"). A Millennium Park restaurant outdoor transforms into an ice rink in the winter. Two tall glass sculptures make up the Crown Fountain. The fountain's two towers display visual effects from LED images of Chicagoans' faces, with water spouting from their lips. Frank Gehry's detailed stainless steel band shell, Pritzker Pavilion, hosts the classical Grant Park Music Festival concert series. Behind the pavilion's stage is the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, an indoor venue for mid-sized performing arts companies, including Chicago Opera Theater and Music of the Baroque.

In 1998, the city officially opened the Museum Campus, a 10-acre (4-ha) lakefront park surrounding three of the city's main museums: the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. The Museum Campus joins the southern section of