Chicago Relocation Facts

"Handy Info and Fun Facts" from the City of Chicago

• Has more than 150 theaters
• Has over 6,000 restaurants
• Has three of the world's tallest buildings:
  • Willis (formerly Sears) Tower. . . . . 1,450 feet
  • Amoco Building . . . 1,136 feet
  • John Hancock . . . . 1,127 feet
• Has 77 neighborhoods
• Has 29 miles of lakefront
• Has 15 miles of bathing beaches
• Has 18 miles of lakefront bicycle paths
• Has more than 200 annual parades
• Has the world's largest population of Poles outside of Warsaw
• Has the world's largest cookie and cracker factory, where Nabisco made 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995.
• The first comprehensive municipal plan ever offered to an American city was written for Chicago by Daniel Burnham and published in 1909.
• Chicago is home to the Largest Building in America (not counting the Pentagon): The Merchandise Mart with 90 acres of floor space.
• Chicago's Oceanarium is the world's largest indoor marine mammal pavilion and doubles the size of the John G. Shedd Aquarium, which is the largest indoor aquarium in the world.
• Chicago is home of one of the world's largest fountains: Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.
• Chicago is home to one of the last free zoos: Lincoln Park Zoo, which is open every day of the year.
• The only river in the world that flows backwards is located in Chicago: the Chicago River, reversed in 1900 by engineers for sanitary purposes.
• Chicago also dyes the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day.
• The Taste of Chicago is the country's largest outdoor food festival that attracted over three million hungry attendees in 1996.
• Chicago is the candy capital of the world with such giants as Tootsie Roll, E.J. Brach and Sons, and Fannie May Candies based here.
• Chicagoland is also home to the nation's number one restaurant company (McDonald's) and the number one food processor (Kraft).
• Chicago is the home of the first mail-order business: Montgomery Ward, which was established in 1872.
• The head of the University of Chicago physics department, Albert Michalson, received the first American Nobel Prize for science in 1907. The University of Chicago has more Nobel Laureates associated with it than any other institution (64).
• In 1942, the University of Chicago became the site of the world's first controlled atomic reaction.
• The Art Institute of Chicago holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.
• The Adler Planetarium was the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.
• Chicago was one of the largest municipalities to include public art funding in its requirements for the renovation or construction of municipal buildings, with the passage of the Percent-for-Art ordinance in 1978.
• The Chicago Cultural Center is the first free, municipal cultural center in the U.S. It is also home to the world's largest Tiffany Dome.
• The Harold Washington Library Center, with more than 2 million books available, is the world's largest public library.
• The Lincoln Park Zoo is the country's oldest public and most popular zoo, with an estimated annual attendance of 4 million people.

Chicago Relocation Resources

Check out these great sites for more Chicago information:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/home.do
The official mayor's guide to the city of Chicago. Provides information relating to libraries, parks, tourism, city departments and news

http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en.html
The city of Chicago's official tourism site

http://www.chicagorelo.com
ChicagoRelo.com is the Premier Guide to Chicago Related Relocation Information. They provide over 900 people a day with Information and Descriptions on over 200 Chicago Neighborhoods & Surrounding towns. In addition they provide contact information for Utilities, Driver's Licenses, Tax Information, Schools, Things To Do & Much More!

http://www.chicagoneighborhoods.cc/chicago-relocation.html
Chicago Neighborhood and City Guide has lots of great tips and advice on how to make the process as easy and smooth as possible

Chicago relocation puts you in the greatest city in the mid-west and possibly the world!