Basaynon Katig-uban of USA & Canada

This city on the shores of Lake Michigan hosts impressive skyscrappers, upscale shops, worldclass museums, and the family-friendly Navy Pier. It is a modern city with a checkered past.

Chicago was only a swamp in 1673 when French explorer Louis Joilet and missionary Jacques Marquette, led by Indian guides, discovered the mouth of the Chicago River at Lake Michigan. According to historians, the local tribes called the area "Checaugou" after the wild garlic (some say onions) growing there.

In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable established a fur-trading store and became the city's first settler. The population grew as businessmen and immigrants flocked to its centralized location. Railroads carried produce and building materials east and west from this hub of commerce.

The architecture of Chicago rivaled that of New York when, on October 8, 1871, the great Chicago fire destroyed 18,000 buildings and left 90,000 people homeless. Citizens rebuilt the city, and today buildings from the early 1900s stand side-by-side with glass and steel towers designed by renown architects.

Chicago has its wild side, too. During the Prohibition, when alcohol was banned by the government, Al Capone ran a wicked bootleg business from 1924 to 1931. Capone's mob fought rival gangs for the illegal and profitable liquor sales. For a long time, outsiders connected Chicago with Capone, but thankfully, Michael Jordan or the Sears Tower comes to mind when visitors think of this great city today.

As for the neckname, "Wind City", newspapers reporters in the late 1800s coined the phrase for the boastfulness of the city's politicians, but the city has more than its share of the real thing. Winds blowing off Lake Michigan whip around the tall buildings with amazing force. The same winds power graceful sailboats on the lake during the warm summer months.

Enjoy your visit and come back soon.

Webmaster: F. Vilches, Jr., Carpentersville, Illinois, USA