Journal 7/27/2010

Even though i was not born in Chicago, I've lived here most of my life and I'm proud to call it home. I thought i knew everything about it already, but today in class i learned so many cool things about this great city and its history.

I learned a really cool fact about Chicago... at some point in time, its sidewalks were made out of wood. I also learned that the fire that burnt Chicago was mainly spread north (I think it's a bit ironic because even though this fire destroyed a great part of the city, it was the start of a great city that would later become full of life).

Two of the only buildings that survived the fire in the downtown area and are still standing today are the water tower and the pumping station (which is still fully functional).

(These are some pictures of the old pumping station that i took today during our walking tour of the downtown area)

As you can see its a very cool building. Once you walk inside you can see what an actual old pumping station looks like.

I think it was a very cool experience to have walked inside the old pumping station and see the massive pipes that i believe are actually connected to the lake.

Another interesting fact that i learned was that after the fire..all buildings that were built in the downtow area were requiered to be built out of steel, not wood.

One of the great architects that helped shape the city of Chicago was Daniel Burnham. He made many contributions to the city by sharing his great ingenuity and visions of what Chicago could become. For example: he built the Marshall fields building (which is now macys)

Daniel Burnhams "plan of Chicago" was not what the city actually looks like today.

He had plans to give Chicago more of an European stylle. He even wrote a book called "plan of Chicago" in 1909. (I'm glad things didnt come out as he planned because i think Chicago has a way better look than Europe :)

An unique fact about Chicago is that it has a great diversity...it's a meliting pot, formed by people who came from all over the world. Part of what makes Chicago a great city is it's diversity...china town..little italy...little village... places were you can go and experience differen cultures, foods, places were you can get an understanding of different ethnic groups and their roots.

Today i learned that by 1890- 70% of Chicagos population came from other countries.

Finally...one thing that i found completely fascinating was that at one point, the Chicago Harvor had more incoming ships than London....i think that's very impressive.

Something that i would definitely want to learn more about is the underground city that was built by Al Capone. I would also want to learn more about the neighborhoods of Chicago and the diversity.

Today changed the way i look at cities because i learned that behind every city there is always a great history amd you never know what new things you might learn. It also helped me get a more visual look and understand how big cities work and how some of the most simple things that are built actually have a purpose....for example in Chicago in the downtown area, there are not a lot of places to sit at and the few houses that are around are fenced up because it's a way to keep "unwanted" guests away by not giving them a spot to actually stand for too long. Also by not having many places to sit and relax it helps congestion in big cities because people keep on moving instead of standing around.

Todays tour was amazing...even though at first i wasnt looking forward to it much because i thought i already knew about Chicago and how to get around...i was very surpriced at how many new things i learned and how interesting it all turned out to be...we visited a park called "Washington Square" which is located right in front of the Newberry Library and i found out every weekend debates about issues that affect Chicago take place at that park...we also visited Thde Drake hotel...in which Queen Elizabeth stayed when she came to Chicago..

These are pictures also taken on todays walking tour...one of the Washington Square and the other of the inside of The drake hotel.