John McPherson APHG Period 5 The document summarizes key facts about the city of Chicago, Illinois. It states that Chicago was founded in 1833 and grew rapidly after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed one third of the city. It describes Chicago's location and climate, demographics, transportation infrastructure, culture, economy, and status as a global alpha city.

1. John McPherson APHG Period 5

2. History Area was seized by Potawatomie people Founded in 1833 population of 200 Major hub of Railroad industry because of location. Great fire of 1871 destroyed 1/3 of city and the CBD After the fire the cities experience rapid growth and expansion.

3. Chi-town 5 main sections. Downtown, East, West, South, and North. 7,300 Acres of parks and 33 public beaches. More than ½ the population of IL lives in the Chicago metropolitan area

4. Random Facts In the 1920s Chicago saw an explosion of organized crime. Hosted the 1968 Democratic Convention. Constructed the worlds tallest building at the time.

5. Culture Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Theatre, Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago Style Pizza. Was voted best sports town of America in 2006.

6. The Loop Downtown is the center of Chicago's cultural, commercial and financial institutions, and home to Grant Park and many of the city's skyscrapers. Many of the city's financial institutions are located within a section of downtown called "The Loop", which is an eight block by five block square of city streets that are encircled by elevated rail tracks

8. Location 41° 50′ 13″ N, 87° 41′ 4″ W Northeastern Illinois at the southern tip of lake Michigan. Hub between east and west.

9. Demographics 2.8 million, third larges city in US. Area was settled in 1770s but city of Chicago wasn’t founded until 1833. 42% of population white, 34% black, 33% other. Because of large multi-ethnic population a wide variety of faiths are practiced.

10. Gender population Male: 1,299,933 (48.11%) Female: 1,401,993 (51.89%)

11. Transportation Major transportation hub of US. Only city in which six class 1 railroads meet. Nine interstate highways run through Chicago. Two airports Midway and O'Hare(worlds second busiest airport).

12. Rapid Transit Three public transportation systems. CTA, Metro, and Pace. CTA operates busses and rapid transport. 24 hours a days. Metro is 11 commuter rail lines into Chicago from suburbs. Pace provides busses to 200 stops.

13. Economy Third largest producing $507 billion a year. City has the most balance economy in the US due to its high level of diversification. Chicago named the fourth most important business center in the world by Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. Chicago recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate Facilities in the US 6 of the last 7 years.

14. Economy cont Major financial center. Home of Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (Merc). Manufacturing, printing, publishing, and food processing also play major roles in Chicago's economy.

15. City Classification World Cities Study Group rated Chicago an alpha city due to its important role in the Global Economy.