A Little History About Chicago

"It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago. She outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them." - Mark Twain, 1883 

Chicago was only 46 years old when Mark Twain wrote those words, but it had already grown more than 100-fold, from a small trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River into one of the nation’s largest cities, and it wasn’t about to stop. Over the next 20 years, it would quadruple in population, amazing the rest of the world with its ability to repeatedly reinvent itself.

And it still hasn’t stopped. Today, Chicago has become a global city, a thriving center of international trade and commerce, and a place where people of every nationality come to pursue the American dream. 

The Great Fire of 1871

As Chicago grew, its residents took heroic measures to keep pace. In the 1850s, they raised many of the streets five to eight feet to install a sewer system – and then raised the buildings, as well. Unfortunately, the buildings, streets and sidewalks were made of wood, and most of them burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Chicago Fire Department training academy at 558 W. DeKoven St. is on the site of the O’Leary property where the fire began. The Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station at Michigan and Chicago avenues are among the few buildings to have survived the fire. Chicago fire, Chicago real estate agent, Chicago real estate, Chicago history

Chicago Firsts

Throughout their city’s history, Chicagoans have demonstrated their ingenuity in matters large and small:

• The nation’s first skyscraper, the 10-story, steel-framed Home Insurance Building, was built in 1884 at LaSalle and Adams streets and demolished in 1931. 
• When residents were threatened by waterborne illnesses from sewage flowing into Lake Michigan, they reversed the Chicago River in 1900 to make it flow toward the Mississippi. 
• Start of the "Historic Route 66" which begins at Grant Park on Adams Street in the front of the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Chicago was the birthplace of: 
  
  • the refrigerated rail car (Swift)
  • mail-order retailing (Sears and Montgomery Ward)
  • the car radio (Motorola)
  • the TV remote control (Zenith)
• The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, ushering in the Atomic Age, took place at the University of Chicago in 1942. The spot is marked by a Henry Moore sculpture on Ellis Avenue between 56th and 57th streets.
• The 1,450-foot Sears Tower, completed in 1974, is the tallest building in North America and the third tallest in the world.

Our sole female mayor, Jane M. Byrne, served from 1979 to 1983, and was succeeded by our first African-American mayor, Harold Washington, who served until his death in 1987. The longest-serving mayor, Richard J. Daley (1955-1976), presided over a public and private building boom that strengthened both downtown and the city’s neighborhoods. His son, Richard M. Daley, mayor since 1989, has reformed education and public housing, strengthened community policing and overseen construction of billions of dollars of schools, libraries, police stations and infrastructure, as well as the renovation of Soldier Field and the creation of Millennium Park. Mayor Daley announced in 2010 that he will not seek re-election in 2011, ending a 21 year tenure as Chicago mayor. 

Chicago is known as a powerhouse business center and a sophisticated city of friendly people. Recently, it has become known as the home of President Barack Obama and Family. It is widely recognized for its daring approach to culture and the arts and its fierce passion for sports. Each Chicago neighborhood offers its own uniqueness along with a rich tradition and history. Each neighborhood also offers a vast variety of home styles fit for various family styles, waiting for you to choose. Chicago offers numerous amounts of neighborhoods and communities. Find out which neighborhood description is the one your looking for!

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