Portal:Chicago

The Chicago Portal

Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S.

Chicago is an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, industry, education, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. It has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. O'Hare International Airport is routinely ranked among the world's top ten busiest airports by passenger traffic, and the region is also the nation's railroad hub. The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products (GDP) of any urban region in the world, ranking sixth globally, generating over $919 billion in 2024. Chicago's economy is diverse, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. (Full article...)

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Crown Fountain is an interactive public fountain in Millennium Park, in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by Jaume Plensa, it opened in July 2004. The fountain consists of a black granite reflecting pool located between a pair of artistic and technically sophisticated opposing glass brick sculptures measuring 50 feet (15 m) in height. The structure involved numerous complicated electronics and architectural considerations, and the construction and design cost $17 million. Throughout most of the warmer months, it incorporates water in the form of a cascade and spouting water nozzle as well as a reflecting pool. The sculptures are known for the digital videos of Chicago residents that they display continuously throughout the year. The fountain has been praised by both trained architects and ordinary city residents for its artistic contribution to Millennium Park. In addition, the fountain has a reputation as a public play area that accommodates a need to escape from summer heat. At times when the National Weather Service issues summer heat advisories and the Illinois Governor is compelled to declare state office buildings as official daytime cooling centers, the national press points to Crown Fountain as a respite not only for Chicagoans, but also for residents of the most remote reaches of the Chicago metropolitan area.

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General images

The following are images from various Chicago-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Flag of Chicago (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 2Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 3Chicago tenants picket against rent increases (March 1920) (from Chicago)
Image 4When it was opened in 1991, the central Harold Washington Library appeared in Guinness World Records as the largest municipal public library building in the world. (from Chicago)
Image 5Ferries offer sightseeing tours and water-taxi transportation along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. (from Chicago)
Image 61855 daguerreotype attributed to Alexander Hesler of the Cook County Court House and City Hall. Believed to be the oldest surviving photograph taken of a structure in Chicago. (from Chicago)
Image 7Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 8The Chicago Picasso (1967) inspired a new era in urban public art. (from Chicago)
Image 9The Field Museum of Natural History (from Chicago)
Image 10Aerial view of the Chicago Loop in 2012 (from Chicago)
Image 11Protesters in Grant Park outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention (from Chicago)
Image 12Men outside a soup kitchen during the Great Depression (1931) (from Chicago)
Image 13The Chicago Picasso (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 14WGN began in the early days of radio and developed into a multi-platform broadcaster, including a cable television super-station. (from Chicago)
Image 15Jay Pritzker Pavilion (from Chicago)
Image 16The Chicago Building (1904–05) is a prime example of the Chicago School, displaying both variations of the Chicago window. (from Chicago)
Image 17Willie Dixon (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 18Chicago Theatre (from Chicago)
Image 19The Chicago Half Marathon on Lake Shore Drive on the South Side (from Chicago)
Image 20Divvy bikes (from Chicago)
Image 21A satellite image of Chicago (from Chicago)
Image 22Traditional Potawatomi regalia on display at the Field Museum of Natural History (from Chicago)
Image 23Navy Pier in the Streeterville neighborhood is one of the most visited attractions in the Midwestern United States (from Chicago)
Image 24Map of racial distribution in Chicago, 2010 U.S. census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other (from Chicago)
Image 25Daley Plaza and the Chicago Picasso, with City Hall-County Building visible in background. At right, the Daley Center contains the state law courts. (from Chicago)
Image 26The University of Chicago campus as seen from the Midway Plaisance (from Chicago)
Image 27Replica of Daniel Chester French's Statue of The Republic at the site of the World's Columbian Exposition (from Chicago)
Image 28Illustration of the Great Chicago Fire (from Chicago)
Image 29The Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 30The main hall of the Field Museum of Natural History in 2007, with Sue the T. rex in the foreground (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 31Chicago was home of The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1986 until 2011, and of other Harpo Production operations until 2015. (from Chicago)
Image 32Home Insurance Building (1885) (from Chicago)
Image 33Downtown and the North Side with beaches lining the waterfront (from Chicago)
Image 34Prentice Women's Hospital on the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Downtown Campus (from Chicago)
Image 35The Chicago Board of Trade Building (from Chicago)
Image 36Buckingham Fountain is in Grant Park in the Loop. (from Chicago)
Image 37Community areas of Chicago (from Chicago)
Image 38A Polish market in Chicago (from Chicago)
Image 39A Ford Explorer SUV as a Chicago Police Department vehicle, 2021 (from Chicago)
Image 40Court of Honor at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 (from Chicago)
Image 41Chicago Union Station is Amtrak's hub for both national long-distance trains and inter-city trains in the Midwest. It is also served by six Metra commuter lines. (from Chicago)
Image 42Chicago Theatre (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 43Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (from Chicago)
Image 44Ethnic origins in Chicago (from Chicago)
Image 45The Chicago River during the January 2014 cold wave (from Chicago)
Image 46A Chicago-style deep-dish pizza (from Chicago)
Image 47Chicago-style hot dog (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 48People walking around Buckingham Fountain to attend a rally (2013) (from Culture of Chicago)
Image 49Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo on the North Side (from Chicago)

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Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural, and social values. Once a site is designated as a landmark, it is subject to the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance, which requires that any alterations beyond routine maintenance, up to and including demolition, must have their permit reviewed by the Landmarks Commission. Many Chicago Landmarks districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation by the National Park Service have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some have been designated with National Historic Landmark status by the United States Secretary of the Interior for historical significance, providing additional federal oversight.

In Chicago, the historic preservation movement initially sought to ensure the survival of individual buildings of special significance. However, the movement has evolved to include districts and neighborhoods and even encompasses distinctive areas of the natural environment. In 1957, Chicago City Council 5th ward Alderman Leon Despres began the landmark preservation movement in Chicago, by adopting the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House. This led to the formation of the City Landmarks Commission, who chose 39 buildings as "honorary" landmarks. That body evolved into the present Commission on Chicago Landmarks which was empowered by Despres's 1968 city ordinance to select and protect 12 important buildings as the inaugural official Chicago Landmarks. The efforts spawned the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois in addition to the municipal Commission. (Read more...)

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... that both Christian Albright and De'Montre Tuggle were born on the same day, named second-team all-Mid-American Conference in 2020, signed with the Chicago Bears in 2022, and debuted in the CFL in 2023?
... that Josie Childs served as a Chicago mayor's assistant, worked as a campaign organizer for three U.S. presidents, and hosted the British queen?
... that Chicago's tornado siren has been described as creepier than the city's actual tornadoes?
... that Al Culver jumped into Lake Michigan to save a drowning man at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair?
... that the Illinois Institute of Technology created Chicago's smallest park by deeding a 54-square-foot (5 m²) granite slab to the city?
... that scientists at the University of Chicago achieved a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction under the stands of a football stadium?
... that four course records were broken during the 2023 Chicago Marathon?
... that avery r. young became the first poet laureate of Chicago in 2023?

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Michael Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player. Widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he became one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA (National Basketball Association) around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. After a standout career at the University of North Carolina, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as one of the stars of the league, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the foul line at Slam Dunk Contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness." He also gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Though Jordan abruptly left the NBA in October 1993 to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998). His 1995–96 Bulls team won an NBA-record 72 regular-season games. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but he returned for two more NBA seasons as a member of the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.

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The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, operated in the New City community area of Chicago, Illinois for 106 years, helping the city become known as "hog butcher for the world" and the center of the American meat packing industry for decades. From the Civil War until the 1920s and peaking in 1924, more meat was processed in Chicago than in any other place in the world. Construction began in June 1865 with an opening on Christmas Day in 1865. The Yards closed at midnight on Friday, July 30, 1971 after several decades of decline during the decentralization of the meat packing industry. The Union Stock Yard Gate was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 24, 1972 and a National Historic Landmark on May 29, 1981.

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"My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here." — Oprah Winfrey

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Chicago news

August 25, 2026 – 2026 WNBA season: In basketball, the Women's National Basketball Association's Chicago Sky bans Enes Kanter Freedom from attending home games following his altercation with Natasha Cloud. (ESPN)
August 23, 2026 – 2026 WNBA season: In basketball, former National Basketball Association player Enes Kanter Freedom is ejected from a WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena after being confronted by Natasha Cloud for his controversy in declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft. (AP)

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Topics

Chicago

History of Chicago: Windy City • 1871 Great Chicago Fire • Haymarket affair • World's Columbian Exposition • Chicago race riot of 1919 • Chicago Board of Trade • McDonald's • Millennium Park • Cook County Democratic Party

Geography: Chicago River • Fort Dearborn • Prairie Avenue • Magnificent Mile • Cook County, Illinois

People: Daniel Burnham • Richard J. Daley • Oprah Winfrey • Al Capone • Barack Obama • Michael Jordan • Jesse Jackson • Aaron Montgomery Ward • Marshall Field • Potter Palmer • Pope Leo XIV • Harold Washington • Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable

Landmarks & Tourist Attractions: Chicago Landmarks • Wrigley Field • Buckingham Fountain • Willis Tower • John Hancock Center • Chicago Cultural Center

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More did you know?

...that Chicago's Crown Fountain (pictured) displays LED images of faces, which typically create the illusion of puckered lips spouting water?
...that the preservation movement that resulted in the Chicago Landmark designation began with the 1957 adoption of the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House?
...the Art Institute of Chicago Building was co-financed by the financiers of the World's Columbian Exposition, which occupied the building for its first six months?
...that 2006 Winter Olympics speedskating champion, Shani Davis', welcome-home celebration was held at the Harold Washington Cultural Center?
...that the Historic Michigan Boulevard District came to be one of the most famous one-sided streets as a result of the legal persistence of Aaron Montgomery Ward?

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