Some Chicago Facts

& interesting facts from an interesting city

I thought it would be cool if I made a page full of interesting Chicago facts. Things that I couldn’t really write a good size page about, but still would like share.

So here is a list of some interesting Chicago information:

  • Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the U.S.
  • 237 square miles of land.
  • About 3 million people live in Chicago city alone.
  • More than 200+ theaters.
  • 200+ art galleries.
  • 7,300+ restaurants
  • 77 community areas.
  • 100+ neighborhoods.
  • 26 miles of lakefront.
  • 15 miles of bathing beaches.
  • 36 annual parades.
  • 19 miles of lakefront bicycle paths.
  • 552 parks
  • U.S. President Barack Obama’s home.
  • Average of 35 million people visit every year.
  • Chicago was named a city in 1837.
  • Chicago’s nicknames include: Windy City, Second City, The City That Works, and the City of Big Shoulders.
  • Chicago is home to eleven Fortune 500 companies.
  • The first Ferris wheel made its debut in Chicago in 1893, now Navy Pier is home to the 15-story Ferris wheel.
  • Chicago’s downtown is called “The Loop”.
  • The game of 16-inch softball was invented in Chicago.
  • The Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower) is the highest building in the Western Hemisphere.
  • Four States are visible from the top of the Willis Tower. (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin)
  • The first steel railroad in the U.S. was produced in 1865.
  • The first televised U.S. presidential candidates’ debate was broadcast from Chicago’s CBS Studios on September 26, 1960, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.