a Santa horse waits for customers
not everybody likes da Bulls
the Jardine Water Purification Plant and the Navy Pier
the lakefront looking north
from the Sears observation deck at 442 meters you have a great view over the town
snow shoveling Chicago style
the Buckingham Fountain from 1927
Chicago is the largest Midwest city and it ranks third in the USA.
Its strong economy is driven by finance,
industry and technology.
Chicago evolved from a small
Algonquian settlement at the
portage between the Mississippi
River and the Great Lakes.
The city of Chicago was established in 1837 and quickly grew in importance and size as
a major transportation hub.The
fire of 1871 almost leveled the town but that did not stop its growth.
At the end of the
19th century the city saw a large influx from European immigrants.
The
Prohibition period in the early 20th century was a golden
time for gangsters and
Al Capone rose to criminal stardom.
Even today the violent crime rate is much higher than the USA average.
Winters can be pretty harsh and snowy and summers are sometimes simmering hot.
In the early 1990's we lived a few years in
one of the suburbs and enjoyed with everybody in the city the glory years of the
Chicago Bulls with
Michael Jordan.
In 1992 the Chicago skyline was dominated by the Sears Tower
on the Chicago River
in winter you need good footware
skating Chicago style