Let’s get some facts straight about the Windy City
By Eileen Ogintz
Let’s get our Chicago facts straight! All eyes are on Chicago this week. An estimated 50,000 people, including 15,000 journalists from around the world, are descending on the Windy City for the Democratic National Convention.
While locals grumble about traffic and blocked off streets, politicians and boosters alike are thrilled to be showing off Chicago, one of my favorite cities.
I worked for the Chicago Tribune for many years, met my husband there, got married there, and had my three kids here. We were back in Chicago last weekend for a wedding, and when I walked past Tribune Tower, now fancy condos, and home to the Museum of Ice Cream, I couldn’t help but get nostalgic.
So, the facts: The Windy City doesn’t refer to the wind coming off Lake Michigan. It refers to Chicagoans who talked and talked and talked to Congress, trying to convince them to hold the 1893 World’s Fair just 20+ years after fire destroyed Chicago. “Chicago is a city of windbags,” one New York journalist reportedly wrote, and the moniker stuck. We learned this and other fun facts on a Mercury Cruise on the Chicago River (this one was dog friendly!) and at the Chicago History Museum, a must-see for first time visitors along with the Willis Tower which boasts an interactive museum as well as its famous SkyDECK and Ledge.
The famous fire that left 100,000 people homeless, a third of Chicago’s population, and burned for three days in 1871 might have started at the O’Leary family farm, but not by a cow kicking over a lantern, as legend goes. “City on Fire” is a terrific exhibit a chance to learn what life was like before, during and after the Great Chicago Fire.
The fire spread by a combination of high winds wind, extreme drought, and because almost all of Chicago’s buildings were made of wood, we learned. We were lucky enough to catch a tour led by docent Ryan Mahaney.
He noted that a Black man who worked as a porter at the Board of Trade, Joseph Hudlin, risked his life to save important papers, allowing it to reopen soon after the fire. His wife, Anna Elizabeth, tended to desperate families who were fleeing. Hudlin, born into slavery, and his wife were among the first generation of Black families to own their own home in Chicago. Board of Trade members who assumed all their records had been destroyed in the first honored him with his portrait prominently displayed when a new building was constructed.
Mahaney debunked the notion that the Second City refers to Chicago being second to New York City. It is also the name of the improvisational comedy club that has launched the careers of stars including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, and Stephen Colbert. The Second City refers to the rebuilt Chicago, famous for ushering in the era of skyscrapers.
The Four Seasons Chicago, where we spent the weekend, has an adorable plush toy named Sammy Skyscraper with fun fact: the first skyscraper was built in Chicago! The first Ferris Wheel, invented by George W.G. Ferris Jr, was built for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
For families who can afford it, The Four Seasons (also dog friendly) is a great bet because of its location, just off the Magnificent Mile (the moniker for a stretch of Michigan Avenue. The hotel has a large indoor heated pool and special Kid’s Club 3226 with games and toys.
“Between the pool and the Kids Club, the kids were happy,” said one Baltimore mom here with two young kids who were busy one morning at breakfast working to complete a special scavenger hunt in a “Passport to Adventure.”
The Chicago History Museum also has an exhibit right now “Designing for Change,” showcasing how Chicago activists in the 1960s and 70s used design to amplify their visions and fight for social change, whether for civil rights, women’s rights, LGBQ rights and more. Of course, we can’t forget the protests and riots of the 1968 Democratic Convention lasting a week protesting America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Many protesters, reporters and bystanders were met with unprecedented levels of police brutality and police violence. Hopefully, we have learned a lot since then as protests are expected this week against US support of Israel among the issues.
Check out The Great Chicago Adventure film at the history museum. Roger and his babysitter, Jean time travel through major events in Chicago history.
Who knew? We also we learned Cracker Jacks, the zipper, elevators , dishwashers, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, and Juicy Fruit Gum originated in Chicago. So were the retail giants Marshall Fields (now Macy’s) and Crate & Barrel.
I loved the kids’ area at the museum where children are encouraged to use all of their senses, including smell, to explore past and present-day Chicago. Hot Dogs at Wrigley Field! Tootsie Rolls were made at the Tootsie Roll Factory! Cows and Pigs because the South Branch of the Chicago River was where the stockyards were. Deep dish pizza was invented here too.
Don’t leave town without tasting a Chicago hot dog (no ketchup allowed!). You can get one at the Museum Cafe). Also don’t miss a slice of deep-dish pizza and an Italian Beef Sandwich which was the original food sold at the restaurant in the acclaimed TV series The Bear, also filmed in Chicago. How many movies have been filmed in Chicago? You can find out here. Bueller? Bueller?