Chicago

Chicago este al treilea cel mai mare oras din SUA dupa New York si Los Angeles, cu
o populatie de 2.8 mil de locuitori.  Orașul este un centru important financiar și industrial
al Americii de Nord, fiind de asemena cunoscut pentru diversitatea sa etnică, dar și pentru
importanța sa în rețeaua de transport americană, având al doilea aeroport din SUA ca număr
de pasageri, Este vizitat de 35 de miloane de turisti in fiecare an. Cateva lucruri interesante
despre Chicago:

- in Chicago exista cea mai lunga strada aflata in totalitate in oras din lume: Western
Avenue. Ea are lungimea de 40 de km si include 62 de dealeri auto. Inca se discuta daca ea
reprezinta cea mai lunga strada din lume.

- Harol Washington Library este cea mai mare librarie publica din lume, avand peste 2
mil de carti.

- Gradina zoologica Lincoln Park Zoo este printre ultimele gradini zoologice in care
oamenii pot intra fara sa plateasca. Primul animal cumparat a fost un pui cu urs, achizitionat
cu 10 dolari in 1874.

- in 1893, in Chicago a avut loc prima operatie pe cord deschis din Statele Unite.

- 1885, in Chicago s-a construit primul zgarie nori din lume: Home Insurance Building ,
care a avut 42 de metri. 47 de ani mai tarziu in 1931 a fost daramata.

2. Chicago's Western Avenue, at 23.5 miles (37.82 km) is the world's longest street and has
a total of 62 car dealerships. Whether Western Avenue is the longest street in Chicago (and
supposedly the longest continuous street in the world within a single city limits) is subject to
some debate

5. With a collection of 2 million books, Chicago's Harold Washington Library is the largest
public library in the world.

 Chicago is home to one of the last free zoos in the world, the Lincoln Park Zoo.
26. The first animal purchased for the Lincoln Park Zoo was a bear cub,
bought for $10 in 1874.

11. In 1893, the first open heart surgery in the United States was performed in
Chicago.

24. In 1885, Chicago became home to the first skyscraper, the Home

Insurance Building, which was originally nine stories tall.

The building opened in 1885[1] and was demolished 47 years later in 1931.

Chicago is the third largest city in the US after New York and Los Angeles. It has a
population of 2.7 million and its metropolis a population of 9.5 million people. It has over
the years contributed immensely to visual arts, novels, film, theater, especially
improvisational comedy, and music, particularly jazz, blues, soul, and house music.

1. Chicago became the first city in the world to construct a blood bank in 1939.

3. Chicago's famous McCormick Place 2.2-million square feet is the US's largest Exhibition

Space.

4. Chicago has the world's largest population of Poles after Warsaw.

5. With a collection of 2 million books, Chicago's Harold Washington Library is the largest
public library in the world.

6. Nabisco (cookie and cracker factory), the world's largest cookie factory and Keebler (ice
cream cone factory), the world's largest ice-cream maker are both located in Chicago.

7. "These Are My Children", Aired by Chicago's NBC station was the first TV soap opera
ever. Chicago is hence the birthplace of TV soap operas.

8. The Jardine Water Purification Plant is the world's largest water filtration plant.

9. With 5 million gallons of water to support 20,000 aquatic animals, Chicago's Shedd

Aquariumtakes the title of being the second largest Aquarium after the Georgia Aquarium.

10. In 1895, Chicago became the first venue of the first ever car race in the United States
of America. The track started at Chicago and went all the way to nearby suburban Evanston

 Chicago is the birthplace of Walt Disney. It is the city Frank Sinatra called “My Kind of Town
(Chicago Is)”. The first ever all-color television station was first debuted in Chicago, as well. The city
is also the birthplace of Playboy magazine.

Except for Louvre in Paris, Chicago is the home of the biggest Impressionist art collection. So, if you
are keen on Impressionist art, this might as well be your second world capital after Paris. It is also
the home for the first Blood Bank, Pinball Game, Car Race, Roller Skates, Spray Paints, Twinkie and
Zipper. Yes, yes, zipper — it was invented in Chicago, too, in 1851. Oh, it is also the home for the
world’s only backward flowing river — Chicago River.

Western Avenue in Chicago — it is the world longest continuous street, stretches over 23 miles. Talk
about the larges; Chicago is also the home of the world’s largest free outdoor food festival — Taste
of Chicago. There is the thing they call rising from one’s ashes, right? Well, that’s how they build
Chicago Public Library after the big fire in 1871.

 Chicago is the third largest city in United States, apart from being its third largest
metropolitan area.
 Chicago is the largest city located on the Great Lakes, along with being the 22nd largest
urban area in the world, by population.
 Chicago has been classified as an Alpha World City for its economic and cultural influence
throughout the world.
 The name ‘Chicago’ is the French interpretation of the Miami-Illinois name ‘Shikaakwa’,
which means ‘wild leek’.
 Chicago was founded in 1772, when Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a man from Haiti,
established a settlement on the north bank of the Chicago River, calling it Eschikagou.
 The town of Chicago was integrated in the year 1833, with a minuscule population of 350.
 Chicago is home to over 40 museums, more than 150 theaters and over 6,000 restaurants.
 Chicago boasts of housing three of the world's tallest buildings, Sears Tower, Amoco
Building and John Hancock. From the Sears Tower, also known as Willis Tower, four of the
American states can be seen including Michigan, Indiana, Illinois & Wisconsin.
19. Four states are visible from the top of the Willis Tower (Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin).

Willis Tower este un zgarie nori de 110 etaje cu o inaltime de 442 de m din Chicago. La
finalizarea sa in 1973, a devenit cea mai inalta cladire din lume, record pe care l a detinut
timp de 25 de ani. Astazi, the Willis Tower este a doua cea mai inalta cladire din Statele
Unite si din Emisfera Vestica si a 19-a cea mai inalta cladire din lume. Mai mult, a ramas
cea mai inalta contructie din metal din lume, majoritatea cladirilor fiind ridicate din
ciment .Peste un milion de turisti viziteaza anual turnul. Design ul turnului a fost inspirat
de un pachet de tigari. Daca vremea este favorabila, din varful turnului pot fi vazute statele
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan sau Wisconsin.

The Willis Tower, built as and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story,
[4]
 1,450-foot (442.1 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[3] At completion in 1973, it
surpassed the World Trade Center towers in New York to become the tallest building in the world, a
title it held for nearly 25 years and remained the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere until
2014 and the completion of a new building at the World Trade Center site. The Willis Tower is
the second-tallest building in the United States and the Western hemisphere – and the 16th-tallest in
the world. More than one million people visit its observation deck each year, making it one of
Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. The structure was renamed in 2009 by the Willis
Group as part of its lease on a portion of the tower's space.

Height comparison of Willis Tower with other tall structures. From left to right: Burj Khalifa,
Dubai; CN Tower, Toronto; Willis Tower, Chicago
The design was inspired by an advertisement for a package of cigarettes.
It remains the world's tallest steel-construction building. All taller buildings use concrete or composite
construction.

 The world's largest public library, Harold Washington Library Center, with a
collection of more than 2 million books, is in Chicago.
 More than 200 annual parades take place in the city of Chicago every year.
 Chicago is home to the largest building in America (excluding Pentagon), The Merchandise
Mart, with 90 acres of floor space. ?????
 Oceanarium, in Chicago, is the largest indoor marine mammal pavilion in the world.
 Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backwards. However, the flow
was reversed by the engineers in 1900.
Raul Chicago este singurul rau din lume care curge invers. La sfarsitul secolului al 19-lea,
din cauza industrializarii rapide a orasului, raul Chicago a fost plin de gunoaie.
Contaminarea lacului Michigan, principala sursa de apa potabila a orasului Chicago, cu
resturile toxice din rau, a dus la izbucnirea unei epidemii de holera si de tifus in oras,
avand efecte devastatoare. S-a decis schimbarea cursului raului, pentru a mai evita orice
problema.
The River is also noteworthy for its natural and man-made history. In 1887, the Illinois General
Assembly, partly in response to concerns arising out of an extreme weather event in 1885 that
threatened the city's water supply,[3] decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River through civil
engineering by taking water from Lake Michigan and discharging it into the Mississippi River
watershed.
 Chicago is known as the ‘Candy Capital of the World’.
 Chicago is the home to the world’s first mail-order business - Montgomery Ward.
 The first American Nobel Prize for science was received by Albert Michelson, Head of the
Physics Department of the University of Chicago.
 The Chicago Cultural Center is the first free municipal cultural center in the US. It is also
home to the largest Tiffany Dome in the world.
 The Art Institute of Chicago is home to the largest collection of Impressionist paintings in the
world, apart from the Louvre (Paris).
 Alone in the metropolitan Chicago area there are more than 30 Fortune 500 companies.
 The first planetarium in the entire Western Hemisphere known as the Adler Planetarium was
opened in Chicago in 1930.
 The World’s biggest outdoor food-fest is held in Chicago, known as the ‘The Taste of
Chicago’.
The taste of Chicago este cel mai mare festival de mancare in aer liber din
lume, tinut in fiecare an in luna iulie. Atmosfera este sustinuta de muzica
live pe numeroasele scene amplasate iar copiii se pot distra prin
numeroasele activitati dar si dand o tura prin carusel. Anul trecut, festivalul
a atras peste un milion si jumatate de oameni.

The Taste of Chicago (known locally as The Taste) is the world's largest food festival, held for five
days in July in Chicago, Illinois in Grant Park. The event is the largest festival in Chicago.[1] Non-
food-related events include live music on multiple stages, including the Petrillo Music Shell,
pavilions, and performances. Musical acts vary from local artists to nationally known artists
like Carlos Santana, Moby, Kenny Rogers or Robert Plant. Since 2008, The Chicago Country Music
Festival no longer occurs simultaneously with Taste of Chicago as it departed the Taste of Chicago
for its own two-day festival typically held in the fall.[2] Rides are also present, such as a Ferris
wheel and the Jump to Be Fit.

1. Chicago’s Western Avenue is the world’s longest continuous street, at 23.5

miles.

3. An average of 35 million visitors flock to Chicago each year.

4. The Chicago Public Library was created directly from the ashes of the great
Chicago Fire in 1871.

5. Chicago was technically the birthplace of soap operas.

6. Shedd Aquarium is home to the oldest aquatic animal in a public aquarium

in the world, an Australian lungfish named Granddad, who is at least 85 years
old.

8. Chicago inventor Martin Cooper invented the first cell phone.

9. In 1924, the first gay rights group in the U.S. was created in Chicago.

10. The first form of softball was invented in Chicago.

12. The first Playboy Mansion was in Chicago.

13. The Ferris wheel was invented in Chicago .  

18. The first all-color TV station made its debut in Chicago in 1956.

21. Chicago is home to 552 parks.

22. Chicago has 15 miles of bathing beaches.

28. Cracker Jacks were also introduced during the 1893 Chicago fair.

 
Picturesque view of Navy Park

29. The first Rotary Club in America was founded in Chicago.

30. Chicago is known as the home of baton twirling. This is because the first

baton-twirling contest was held as part of the Chicagoland Music Festival in
1935.

31. The Wrigley Building was the first air-conditioned office building.

32. The first McDonald’s franchise restaurant, owned by Ray Kroc, opened

in the Chicagosuburb of Des Plaines in 1955.

33. In 1895, the first automobile race ever seen in the United States was held

in Chicago.
Millennium Park
Este una dintre principalele atractii ale orasului. A fost construit la inceputul anilor 2000 din
dorinta de a acoperi o parcare . Astfel, parcul a ajuns cea mai mare gradina amenajata pe un
acoperis. A costat 475 de mil de dolari, bani platiti de oras si de donatori privati. Este vizitat
de peste 4 mil de turisti anual, ceea ce a dus la includerea sa intr un top a celor mai vizitate
destinatii din Statele Unite in 2017. In Millennium Park, se afla doua dintre cele mai
importante obiective turistice din Chicago.  

and by 2017 it had become the number one tourist attraction in the Midwestern United States.

Millennium Park has free admission,[3] and features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown
Fountain, the Lurie Garden, and various other attractions

 Because the park sits atop a parking garage and the commuter rail Millennium Station, it is
considered the world's largest rooftop garden.

The final cost of $475 million was borne by Chicago taxpayers and private donors. The city paid
$270 million; private donors paid the rest,

In 2017, Millennium Park was the top tourist destination in Chicago and the Midwest, and placed
among the top ten in the United States with 25 million annual visitors

With more than 4 million people visiting Millennium Park every year, it
has become a much-loved destination that has changed the image of
Chicago

Cloud gate
Cloud Gate este o sculptura creata de un indian nascut in Anglia pe nume Anish Kapoor.
Designul a fost inspirat de mercurul lichid, sculptura reflectand arhitectura orasului.este
construit din 168 de placi de metal. Are 13 m inaltime si cantareste 100 de tone. A costat 11
mil de dolari, bani veniti in totalitate din donatiile cetatenilor si ale companiilor. Inainte sa fie
dezvaluit publicului, a stat ascunsa sub un cort timp de 8 luni timp in care muncitorii au
lustruit sculptura. Este curatat de 2 ori pe zi. Sculptura mai este poreclita Bobul (“the bean”).

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor,

Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the
city's skyline that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park in the Loop community
area of Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between
the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and
2006, the sculpture is nicknamed The Bean because of its shape. Made up of 168 stainless
steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66
by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).

The sculpture was finally completed on August 28, 2005, and officially unveiled on May 15, 2006.[38]
[39]
 The cost for the piece was first estimated at $6 million; this had escalated to $11.5 million by the
time the park opened in 2004,[40] with the final figure standing at $23 million in 2006.[4] No public funds
were involved; all funding came from donations from individuals and corporations.

While metalworkers polished Cloud Gate for its unique

uninterrupted surface, the piece was hidden beneath a tent in
Millennium Park for eight months in 2005.

Every day, Cloud Gate accumulates sweat, grease,

fingerprint grime, or shoe dirt from the myriad of visitors who
touch it. Its cleaning schedule varies by season, but maintenance
crews wipe the lower, touchable parts several times a day and
often give it a power wash at night. Twice a year, the city bathes it
in 40 gallons of Tide for a deep cleaning.
The exterior has been welded shut and polished to be seamless,
and terms state that the 168-piece structure remain standing
until 3006. 

Case in point: when Kapoor was notified by a Sun-

Times reporter that locals were calling the piece “The Bean,” he
responded that the nickname was “completely stupid.” 

Crown fountain

Jaume Plensa’s "Crown Fountain" features the faces of a cross-

section of Chicagoans who were filmed close-up in 2003-04 by
Spanish artist Jaume Plensa while they sat back in a dentist
chair.

The Crown Fountain accentuates the designer’s themes of light, dualism, and water; 

The Crown Fountain a fost conceput de un artist catalan si prezinta fetele mai multor oameni.
Acestia au fost alesi si filmati de catre autoarea fantanii in timp ce stateau pe un scaun de
dentist la intre anii 2003-2004. Fantana este compusa din doua blocuri de caramazi de sticla
inalte de 15 m. Functioneaza intre mai si octombrie in functie de vreme. Se uitlizeaza peste un
milion de LED uri. Sculptura a costat peste 17 mil de dolari.

The Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture, named in honor of
Chicago's Crown family and opened in July 2004. It was designed by Catalan conceptual
artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects.[88][89] The fountain is composed of
a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of transparent glass brick towers. The towers
are 50 feet (15 m) tall,[88] and use light-emitting diodesbehind the bricks to display digital videos on
their inward faces. Construction and design of the Crown Fountain cost $17 million.[90]
Weather permitting, the water operates from May to October,[91] intermittently cascading down the
two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face. To achieve the effect in which
water appears to be flowing from subjects' mouths, each video has a segment where the subject's
lips are puckered, which is then timed to correspond to the spouting water, reminiscent
of gargoyle fountains; this happens roughly every five minutes.[92] The park and fountain are open to
the public daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The fountains use over one million LEDs