1.  Chicago has 237 square miles of land and 26 miles of lakefront.  It is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.

2.  Chicago has 77 community areas containing more than 100 neighborhoods and an estimated 2,896,016 residents.

3.  Chicago’s downtown area is known as “The Loop.” The nickname refers to the area encircled by the elevated (‘L’) train tracks.

4.  Four states are visible from the Skydeck Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower Skydeck). Indiana, Illinois, Michigan & Wisconsin.

5.  The title "Windy City" was given to Chicago by New York Sun editor Charles Dana in 1893. He was tired of hearing long-winded politicians boasting about the wonders of the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago the same year.

6.  Chicago is the third largest city in United States, apart from being its third largest metropolitan area.

7.  Chicago was founded in 1772, when Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a man from Haiti, established a settlement on the north bank of the Chicago River, calling it Eschikagou.

8.  Chicago is home to over 40 museums, more than 150 theaters and over 6,000 restaurants.

9.  The Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backwards.

10.  On the evening of October 8, 1871, a fire broke out in the barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at 13 DeKoven Street. It was the beginning of the great Chicago Fire.  The weather had been extremely dry and the fire department had difficulty locating the house. The entire central business of the city had been destroyed, and at least 300 people were dead, 100,000 people were homeless, and $200 million worth of property was destroyed.  The Chicago Fire was one of the most spectacular events of the nineteenth century, and it is recognized as a major milestone in the city's history.