Particularities
Chicago hot dog ?
It is said that the hot dog was invented in Chicago, short for C according to Abbreviationfinder. During the First World War, the sausage in a roll (still without ketchup) was offered here to the army of factory, port and slaughterhouse workers.
The hot dog cost only five cents and stuffed the hungry mouths of the workers millions of times over.
Today the city is said to offer the best hot dogs in the United States, and several tour companies specialize in hot dog discovery tours.
Al Capone
Chicago is the city of Al Capone, who became one of America’s most notorious criminals here between 1926 and 1931.
Slaughterhouses
Around 1900
Valentine’s Day Massacre
The shooting of seven people on February 14, 1929 as part of a gang war in a garage in Chicago is known as the Valentine’s Day massacre.
The act received a lot of public and media attention
But the infamous Union Stockyards in Chicago had been working like this decades before. In 1913, the first Ford T. rolled off the production line in Detroit. The event is considered to be the hour of birth of the assembly line, which has had a massive impact on industrial history. But Henry Ford’s “assembly lines” were nothing more than an adaptation of the “disassembly lines” of the legendary Chicago slaughterhouses. More than 80 percent of American meat was produced and packaged in the Union Stockyards around 1900. 25,000 workers continuously killed pigs and cattle – in an area roughly the size of the fifth district of Vienna.
Assembly lines had existed in American slaughterhouses since the middle of the 19th century, but mass production only became possible with the invention of the railroad refrigerator car in 1877. Fresh meat could thus be transported over long distances. AP Aufdecker Upton Sinclair Chicago was an ideal starting point for the meat trade, because this is where the train lines from the east coast met those from the west. The business was dominated by the so-called “Big Five”, entrepreneurs Gustavus Swift, Philip Armor, Nelson Morris, Georg Hammond and Patrick Cudahy. The work was done by immigrants, many of them from Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania.
The unskilled workers in the stockyards are said to have only needed 15 minutes to cut an animal through the assembly lines – an experienced butcher took eight hours, researched the business magazine “Brand eins”. “Meat Production Using Applied Mathematics” Journalist Upton Sinclair described the production as “Meat Production Using Applied Mathematics”. For his novel “The Jungle” he lived for several weeks in the slaughterhouses at the beginning of the 20th century and described the monotonous work in detail:
Celebrations and events
| December January | Chinese New Year Parade The Chinese New Year Parade begins at the corner of Wentworth Avenue and Cermak Road. He is accompanied by large paper kites and thousands of participants and visitors. |
| February | Black History Month Every year events related to the past and present of African-American culture are held across the city. |
| 17. March | St. Patrick’s Day www.chicagostpatsparade.com St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with a boisterous, beery parade on Dearborn Street. The holiday goes back to the Irish immigrants. March 17th is a must for their descendants. |
| May June | Chicago Blues Festival www.chicagobluesfestival.org The world famous blues festival takes place annually in central Grant Park. Blues greats from all parts of the country take part and thousands of visitors travel to the festival, which extends over several days. |
| 2nd weekend in June | Chicago Gospel Festival www.chicagogospelfestival.com In Grant Park and Millennium Park, a weekend of “black music” of different genres resounds. |
| Last Saturday in June | Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade www.chicagopridecalendar.org Gays and lesbians celebrate at numerous events and a colorful parade on Broadway. |
| June 27th to July 4th | Taste of Chicago Numerous restaurants in the city provide the “Fress-Fest” in Grant Park with excellent food. The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra will provide the musical accompaniment. Finally, a large fireworks display illuminates Lake Michigan. |
| 4th of July | 4th of July Independence Day is celebrated with parades and large fireworks over Lake Michigan. |
| September 1st weekend | Chicago Jazz Festival www.chicagojazzfestival.org In Grant Park, well-known jazz greats perform, which attract thousands of listeners. |
| 2nd Sunday in October | Windy City International Marathon The city marathon runs through the urban canyons and parks of Chicago. |
| 2nd half of October | Chicago International Film Festival www.chicagofilmfestival.org In the course of the international film festival, numerous productions from home and abroad are shown. In 2006 it will take place for the 42nd time. |
Zoological gardens
Lincoln Park Zoo
The zoo is located in Lincoln Park. It was founded in 1868 and is known today for its great apes and birds of prey. Admission is free.
Shedd Aquarium
1200 South Lake Shore Drive
www.sheddaquarium.org
The oldest museum aquarium in the world is also the world’s largest indoor aquarium. Around 8,000 animals of over 650 species can be admired in the gigantic underwater and terrarium world.
California Zephyr
This train starts and ends here in Chicago. But the train doesn’t just take you to just before San Francisco – it is also an adventure trip of the first order.
The train travels this route every day with around 20 cars and three diesel locomotives. It takes about 55 hours for the 3,900 km route across the USA.
The train ends at Emeryville Station near San Francisco. From here there is a shuttle to San Francisco.
The train has a dining car, sleeping car, seating car and a “glass” viewing car. Without a doubt, the drive through the Rocky Mountains is particularly impressive.
On its journey, the train crosses the approximately 10 km long Moffat Tunnel near Rollinsville in Colorado. The vertex of the tunnel, which was opened to traffic in 1929, is at an altitude of 2,816 m and the
train stops at the stations of 33 cities, including Denver, Salt Lake City and Sacramento.
Lakes, rivers and harbors
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan, which borders Chicago to the east, is the second largest of the five Great Lakes in the American Midwest. With its 480 kilometers long and 190 kilometers wide, it resembles an inland sea. It is up to 280 meters deep and has a coastline of over 2,600 kilometers. The city is cooled by the lake in summer, while in winter it brings the snow to Chicago with strong winds. The 47 kilometer long Chicago lakeside is the gateway to “their sea” for the city’s residents. Long promenades, extensive sandy beaches and a wide range of water sports attract the Chicagoans to the lake in droves, especially in summer.
Chicago River
The river, on which the first non-Indian settlers settled in the 1770s, now runs through the middle of the metropolis, past gleaming skyscrapers. Unlike then, it no longer flows into Lake Michigan, but in the opposite direction. In the 19th century, city planners used this measure to reduce pollution of the lake.
Port of Chicago
3600 East 95th Street
www.theportofchicago.com
The port facilities are located on the Calumet River in the southeast of the city. The location is of great importance for shipping in the USA. Ocean-going ships can reach the Atlantic from Chicago via the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Canal. Goods and raw materials can be found in the Gulf of Mexico via the Illinois River and the Mississippi
