Saturday, April 24, 2010

Chicago, Illinois, USA



Chicago, originally uploaded by P•A•U•L | Photography.
Chicago is the largest city in Illinois, and the third most populous city in the United States, with over 2.8 million people living within city limits. Its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland", is the 26th largest metropolitan area in the world, home to an estimated 9.7 million people spread across the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. The city of Chicago and most of its surrounding suburbs are located in Cook County, with the exception of the southwestern sector of O'Hare International Airport, which is located in DuPage County.

Chicago was founded in 1833, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land following the Treaty of Chicago. The city became a major transportation and telecommunications hub in North America. Today, the city retains its status as a major hub, both for industry and infrastructure, with Chicago-O'Hare International Airport as the second busiest airport in the world. In 2007, the city attracted 32.8 million domestic visitors and about 1.15 million foreign visitors.

In modern times, the city has taken on an additional dimension as a center for business and finance and is listed as one of the world's top ten Global Financial Centers. Chicago is a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has been home to influential politicians, including the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Chicago as an "alpha world city" due to Chicago's important role in the global economic system.

Globally recognized,Chicago has numerous nicknames, which reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best known include: "Chi-town", "Windy City", "Second City", and the "City of Big Shoulders". Chicago has also been called "the most American of big cities".

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

No comments:

readers

labels and tags

Powered By Blogger