I opened the curtains of my bedroom in the Congress Plaza Hotel. Within the last century, this hotel had served as the once-glamorous overnight residence of ‘the Great Caruso’, Nellie Melba, the Vanderbilts, the Rockerfellers, Thomas Eddison, George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Buffalo Bill, as well as a wide selection of US presidents from Roosevelt to Nixon.
My view across Grant Park and the ‘Versailles’-ian Buckingham Fountain down to the lakeshore was nothing short of awesome.
However, this ‘City of Big Shoulders’, this wonderful ‘Windy City’ has had to fight a bit of an uphill battle. Chicago is a city made famous by the eponymously-titled musical (and later film) set in a women’s prison in the Prohibition/Gangster era.
But Chicago has been badly misrepresented on stage and screen. Even to this day, this is known as the home of Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones – “Whatever, ho! Talk to the hand, the face ain’t listenin”.
There are of course areas in this vast metropolis where it is unsafe to stray, and there are still many violent drug-related crimes committed outside of ‘downtown’.
And yet this is one of the most beautiful, impressive and very clean cities on our planet. Heavy littering fines keep Chicago’s city centre streets spotless. The astounding high-rise downtown skyline, including the record-breaking Sears Tower, is surrounded by less organised suburbs.
Within Chicago’s logical, mathematically worked-out street numbering system, lies a treasure trove of art, architecture, museums, jazz and blues clubs, comedy clubs, opera houses, theatres, concert halls, and innumerable shops, malls and eateries.
The state of Illinois is littered with prehistoric sites, and the city’s name comes from the Native Indian ‘Checaugou’. In the early 17th Century Europeans began to move in, first some French missionaries, and later the British, of course. Illinois officially became a state in 1818. Pioneer farming settlements began to spring up, canals were constructed, and the controversial building of roads and railways led to the famous clashes with Native Americans. The ‘Black Hawk War’ of 1832 led to the forced removal of the area’s indigenous people westwards.
Chicago fast became the country’s railroad hub and an industrial revolution ensued. Chicago became a centre for heavy industry, as well as the meat and distilling industry. In 1871, a huge fire destroyed the city centre – rumoured to have been started by an Irish lady’s cow knocking over a lighted lantern.
I am not fully convinced by that one myself, but there is no doubting the high percentage of the city’s Irish population and countless Irish pubs – they even dye the river green on St.Patrick’s Day!
In the early 20th century, illegal alcohol trading and corruption, followed by the Prohibition and Depression years seem to be what gave Chicago it’s unjust and ugly label.
But now Chicago is one of the world’s capitals of trade, commerce and industry, as well being on the A-list for art, music and culture, as the extremely popular Mayor Richard Daley leads this fabulous city into the new Millennium.
On my second stay, we were put up at the rather extravagant “Intercontinental”, located for all serial-shoppers on the city’s ‘Magnificent Mile’ – Michigan Avenue’s upscale shopping strip.
Coming from a coastal town myself, normally I don’t like to be too far away from the sea, and Chicago could hardly be further, but somehow the vast aquatic expanse of Lake Michigan (bigger than Ireland) gives a coastal, if freshwater, feel.
Thankfully the lakeshore has been spared from over-development, and so, the 1200-acre Lincoln Park, the miles of endless beaches and lakefront promenades are a gift for the many health-conscious Chicagoans.
The colossal Art Institute of Chicago commands a hefty entrance fee, but it is worth every cent, and is a must. Impossible to see it all on one visit, the gallery houses Indian, African, Ancient American, Egyptian, Greek and Oriental artefacts, as well as countless masterpieces from every era – in particular ‘Impressionist’, my favourite.
Nearby, Millennium Park boasts impressive sculptures , live picture-shows, open-air concerts and the new “Bean” which mirrors Chicago’s stunning skyline. Navy Pier’s amusements, arcades and Ferris Wheel are also worth a visit.
As with the east coast and mid-west, Chicago’s seasons are fairly extreme. Winters are cold with an icy wind. Summers are warm with a wafting breeze, in this truly magnificent “Windy City”.
