The Rough Guide to Chicago 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

INTRODUCTION Sitting squarely in the middle of America, surrounded by hundreds of miles of pancake-flat prairies, Chicago is, in many ways, the last great American city. Having come of age during the industrial age – the grain, lumber, meatpacking, steel and railroad trades all took turns dominating the economic landscape – Chicago’s blue-collar roots still shine through, with all the can-do attitude of a small town, the ambition and diversity of a dynamic metropolis, and a distinct lack of pretension throughout. While the city may stand in the shadow of more cosmopolitan New York or cutting-edge LA, there’s no shortage of top-notch art and architecture, or street-level excitement, with less of the hassle and infrastructure problems of the coastal rivals. Chicago’s reputation as the stomping ground of Prohibition-era gangsters like Al Capone may still loom large in most people’s minds, along with images of the backroom dealing perfected by politicians, but the truth is rather less lurid. These days, Chicago is better known for its sports obsessions, as Chicagoans are, for better or worse, loyally supportive of their teams; the ever-inconsistent Chicago Cubs’ games remain well attended thanks to marquis players like Sammy Sosa and the atmosphere conjured up at grand old Wrigley Field. Founded in the early 1800s, the city grew up with the country, serving as the main connection between the established East Coast cities and the wide open Wild West frontier. This position on the sharp edge between civilization and wilderness made the city into a crucible of innovation, something only enhanced by the chance the city had to start over, after the Fire of 1871, in which much of central Chicago burned to the ground – one of the worst fires in US history. Indeed, many aspects of modern American life, from skyscrapers to suburbia, had their start, and perhaps their finest expression, here on the shores of Lake Michigan. In the early years of the twentieth century, the city cemented a reputation as a place of limitless opportunity, with jobs aplenty for those willing to work – and was the obvious destination for those seeking opportunity in the Midwest. The city swelled with immigrants from Eastern Europe, Sweden, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Germany, China and Ireland, as well as migrants from the Deep South, all of whom have left their mark, some more indelibly than others, making Chicago something of a quirky metropolis in America’s heartland. What other city, after all, would dye its river green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day? Meanwhile, some eighteen million visitors come to Chicago each year, making it one of the top tourist destinations in the country. While they invariably tour the city’s wide range of excellent museums and other high-brow attractions, Chicago’s strongest cultural suit is live music, with a phenomenal array of jazz and blues clubs packed into the backrooms of its amiable bars and cafés; it’s not a stretch to say that modern blues music was invented here. The rock scene is also one of the healthiest in the country, with a profusion of bands having come out of the city in the 1990s. And almost everything is noticeably less expensive than in other US cities – eating out, for example, costs much less than in New York or LA, but is every bit as good.