All too often we as Chicagoans forget the great history of our fine city. We look at New York and Los Angeles and somehow feel inferior due to our lack of contribution to American history. Some of these facts should help you regain your national pride and help you remember that Chicago truly is America’s best city.
The 4 stars on the Chicago flag represent Fort Dearborn, the Chicago Fire, the World’s Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.
The Art Institute of Chicago holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.
Among the Field Museum’s most prized jewels is the 5,890-carat Chalmerz topaz, which weighed 10,200 carats in the rough.
Chicago has 29 miles of lake frontage and 15 miles of public beach.
Chicago is home to the world’s largest population of Poles outside of Warsaw.
Chicago is home to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is one of the last free zoos still in operation.
Chicago’s McCormick Place has the largest amount of exhibit space of any convention center in the country at 2.2 million square feet.
Chicago’s Western Avenue is the world’s longest street.
The Chicago Public Library, the Harold Washington Library, is the world’s largest public library with a collection of more than 2 million books.
Chicago’s central water filtration plant, located on the lakefront north of Navy Pier, is the largest in the world.
Chicago’s Oceanarium is the world’s largest indoor marine mammal pavilion and doubles the size of the John G. Shedd Aquarium, which is the largest indoor aquarium in the world.
These are just a couple of the many interesting little tid bits from around the city. If you can think of any that we might have missed go ahead and drop them in the comment box!
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Chicago is privileged to have 2 great zoos — the suburban Brookfield Zoo, which is one of the best in the Midwest; and the very nice downtown Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the nation’s best free zoos. There is also Shedd Aquarium, one of the 3 best aquariums in the nation.
Allen Nyhuis, Coauthor: America’s Best Zoos