Основна інформація про Чикаго

Сьогодні Чикаго — це розвинений мегаполіс із процвітаючою економікою, багатою архітектурою та світовою культурною спадщиною. Яким раніше було це місто?

Місто знаходиться на Середньому Заході США, у штаті Іллінойс. Це один із трьох найбільших мегаполісів Америки (після Нью-Йорка та Лос-Анджелеса). Населення Чикаго – понад 2,6 мільйона осіб. Місто розкинулося на берегах озера Мічиган. Тут також є річки Калумет, Чикаго-Рівер та водний канал, який сполучає річку Міссісіпі з Великими озерами.

З давніх-давен на узбережжі озера Мічиган жили індіанські племена. Після приходу на континент європейців у 1674 році на місці сучасного Чикаго було збудовано місіонерський пост, який у 1803 році перетворився на захисний форт, який відбивав напади індіанців. Як окреме селище Чикаго було засновано 1833 року. Саме тоді він уперше з’явився на карті США. А через чотири роки отримав статус міста.

У 1837 році Чикаго було практично знищено страшною пожежею, причина якої досі невідома. На щастя, місто вдалося швидко відновити.

У 1885 році в Чикаго побудували перший у світі хмарочос на (смішно сказати) цілих 10 поверхів. З того часу тут почалася ера висоток. На сьогодні на вулицях міста їх понад 300.

У 20-30-х роках ХХ століття Чикаго прославився на весь світ як столиця гангстерів. Місто повністю перейшло під контроль кримінальних угруповань. Їхня влада закінчилася лише після арешту лідера мафіозі — знаменитого Аль Капоне.

Сьогодні Чикаго — це розвинений мегаполіс із процвітаючою економікою, багатою архітектурою та світовою культурною спадщиною.

Chicago

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Professor Emeritus of History, University of Illinois at Chicago. Author of Challenging Chicago: Coping with Everyday Life, 1837-1920; and others.

Encyclopaedia Britannica’s editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Recent News

Chicago, city, seat of Cook county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. With a population hovering near three million, Chicago is the state’s largest and the country’s third most populous city. In addition, the greater Chicagoland area—which encompasses northeastern Illinois and extends into southeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Indiana—is the country’s third largest metropolitan area and the dominant metropolis of the Midwest.

The original site for Chicago was unremarkable: a small settlement at the mouth of the Chicago River near the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Indeed, a common notion for the origin of the city’s name is an Algonquian word for a wild leek (or onion) plant that grew locally. However, Chicago’s location at the southwestern end of the vast Great Lakes system could not have been more ideal as the country expanded westward in the 19th century, and perhaps this is reflected in another interpretation of the Native American term as meaning “strong” or “great.” Regardless of which derivation is correct, it was soon recognized that the Chicago River formed a critical link in the great waterway that arose mid-century between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River. With the rise of railways soon thereafter, the young city became the country’s railway hub, which helped diversify the city’s rapidly growing industrial base. Chicago continued as America’s crossroads with the explosive growth of air travel after World War II, which eased the city’s transition into a postindustrial economy.

Chicago sprawls along the lakeshore and extends inland to meet its suburbs in a ragged line. At its greatest extent, the city is some 25 miles (40 km) from north to south and 15 miles (25 km) from east to west. Area 228 square miles (591 square km). Pop. (2010) 2,695,598; Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metro Division, 7,883,147; Chicago-Joliet-Naperville Metro Area, 9,461,105; (2020) 2,746,388; Chicago-Naperville-Evanston Metro Division, 7,267,535; Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Metro Area, 9,618,502.

Character of the city

A drive across Chicago’s lively neighborhoods is a trip around the world: the cultures of virtually every country can be found in food stores, restaurants, clothing shops, music and video dealers, places of worship, and street-corner conversations. Chicago’s dizzying growth in the 19th century led to a reputation not only for disorder and political corruption but also for creativity in the arts, architecture, and business. The resulting economic opportunities also contributed to the diversity of the city’s population.

Chicago never fulfilled its dream of becoming the largest American city, but between 1890 and 1982 it was second only to New York City. That fact has contributed much to the city’s reputed personality. In the 19th century it had the image of being aggressive and self-promoting, stealing population and businesses from the East. Chicago’s “Windy City” nickname, in fact, came not from lake breezes but from its braggadocio—exhibited most dramatically in the 1890s, when it pushed aside New York and St. Louis, Missouri, in the competition to become the site of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Poet Carl Sandburg hailed it as the “city of the big shoulders,” cunning and cruel, yet creative and strangely attractive. It was the “toddlin’ town” of the 1920s tune, and Frank Sinatra famously proclaimed it “my kind of town.” New York writer A.J. Liebling belittled its provinciality in a stinging series of magazine articles, collected in the 1952 book Chicago: The Second City. Chicagoans eventually forgot the book, but the adopted epithet stuck. Under the regime of the late mayor Richard J. Daley, efficient municipal services made it the “city that works.” Chicagoans still like to refer to it as the “city of neighborhoods,” even though that description can carry connotations of segregation by race, ethnicity, and social class.