The day started out just as any other day would, wake up, get dressed, eat, and then go off to do what I know best: work. But suddenly my preconceived notion of this day being just like all the rest was thrown out the window. Today, on the third day of the sixth month in the year two thousand and nine was a day, which for me personally, opened my eyes to the real life of Chicago.
My friends and I all love the city of Chicago, with it being a nice get away, and we see the real life of a city. On this day we planned to go to Chicago to witness the world famous Chicago fireworks at Grant Park. After work, my buddies picked me up, in a rather unorthodox way, but let’s not get into that. We go on our merry way from Union to Elgin Metra Station. Running late, we are all annoyed by Elgin’s semi rush hour traffic. We reach the station, and low and behold, there has been a lovely one car accident blocking us from entering the parking lot. We find a spot and hightail it to the waiting dock, for we see our train in the midst. Alas, we climb aboard, and select our seats. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the soothing rock of the train. Right as the Sears tower makes its phenomenal debut, I foresee an eventful evening.
Today was a busy day for all Chicagoans and their visitors. This became apparent as soon as the feet of the commuters hit the dusty cement of the station floor. People are rushing from all exits, reminding me of a clash of cultures, ranging from white collar gentlemen to pacifist Buddhists. This was all through the station. Until we see the glimmering sun reflected on the windows of the Sears tower, which rises above us along the shores of the Chicago River. The trek down to Grant Park was rather uneventful. As we reached the park,...
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... cop sitting atop. Cops on horses, what a sight to see, I for some strange reason found this utterly hysterical, further ahead there was a line of them. All the police gladly sitting atop their faithful steed watch as the sight see-ers flock. It was much like this entirely back to the station. Once I see that familiar Chicago Bridge, I know we are almost out, relief sets in.
While waiting outside of Union Station for our train, we overhear a couple talking about last year’s fireworks on the same day. Come to find out, the previous year there was a gang shooting or gang war of some sort, and many were killed. Suddenly the draft of police seemed to make sense, but the next question arose, why if there was a gang war, would people want to go next year. Well, the taste of Chicago answered that question, as well as filled and stomachs and delighted our taste buds.
Chicago in the 1920s was a turning point for the development of ethnic neighborhoods. After the opening of the first rail connection from New York to Chicago in the 1840s, immigration sky rocketed from that point on. Majority of the immigrants to Chicago were Europeans. The Irish, Italians, eastern European Jews, Germans, and Mexicans were among the most common ethnicities to reside in Chicago. These groups made up the greater part of Chicago. The sudden increase in immigration to Chicago in the 1920s soon led to an even further distinguished separation of ethnicities in neighborhoods. The overall development of these neighborhoods deeply impacted how Chicago is sectioned off nowadays. Without these ethnicities immigrating to Chicago almost 100 years ago, Chicago neighborhoods would not be as culturally defined and shaped as they are today.
In the book, “The Devil in the White City,” Erik Larson tells the story of two formidable men and their activities during Chicago’s World Fair of 1893. Daniel Burnham is an architect and the fair’s brilliant director. The book takes the reader through the tremendous obstacles and tragedies that Burnham faces in an attempt to create a fair that will give America its fame. However, H.H Holmes is a young doctor, who uses the attraction of the great fair and his charms to lure dozens of young women to their inevitable and tragic deaths. Not only did Chicago’s World Fair of 1893 showcase Daniel Burnham’s success as an able director and H.H. Holmes cunning nature, it changed America as a whole, introduced some lasting inventions, and influenced many historical figures of both that time and our current time period.
The Chicago fire was a bad time and a good time in Chicago’s past. It destroyed a whole city, but in a way it rebuilt it as well. It led to many good things, it showed that even though you may not like the people you live by or with, when they need help, you should help them no matter what. It also led to industrialization, which helped Chicago become the metropolis it is today. Even though nobody knows who started the Great Chicago fire, whether it was old peg leg Sullivan, two random old men fighting in the barn, a comet falling from the night sky, or Mrs. O’Leary starting it herself for attention, it is still one of the worst, if not the worst disasters in Chicago’s great history. Chicagoans will always remember October 8, 1871, because it is a day that changed Chicago forever.
As terrible as the Great Chicago Fire was to the city of Chicago back in 1871, the lessons learned from this disaster and the reconstruction that followed from the ashes and rubble actually helped turn Chicago into one of the great cities in the United States. This paper will examine what happened and why, what the leaders of Chicago learned from the experience, and how the will and spirit of the people of Chicago along with financial support from a sympathetic nation and beyond forever changed the city of Chicago for the better.
Think of the most beautiful city in world. You are walking the streets, taking in the scenery in complete admiration of a city built by men. Then one day you go to sleep, a few hours later you awaken, and that beautiful city is completely destroyed. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history (“The Great Chicago”). After many failed attempts to put out the fire, people were left homeless and helpless to rebuild their city. Thankfully, after every tragedy there is always a recovery.
The setting of the story is Chicago’s South Side. This area of Chicago was known as the “capital of black America” (Manning), and according to Andrew Wiese, Chicago used to be known as “the most segregated city in America” (118). These seriously contradictory statements are true. Chicago’s South Side was home to William L. Dawson, who was the most powerful black politician at the time, and Joe Luis, who was a boxing champion and was known as the most popular black man in America (Manning). It was the most popular place for blacks to migrate to during the Great Migration, and the population grew from 278,000 blacks to 813,000 blacks. Most of the neighborhoods located in the South Side were poor and highly segregated from the rich white neighborhoods located just outside the South Side (Pacyga). The housing in these areas was very poor as well. Most of the African Americans at the time lived in a small apartment called a kitchenette. These were cramped with a small kitchen and small rooms (Plotkin). Lorraine Hansberry describes the Youngers house as a worn out, cramped, and very small apartment (23). She also talks about the small kitchen, living room, and bedrooms (24). These apartments were not ideal, but it was all that many African Americans could afford. If African Americans tried to move nicer neighborhoods, whites would perform violent acts on them (Choldin). This violence was recorded in a African American newspaper, known the Chicago Defender (Best).
The Chicago Housing Authority is an agency that is at odds with its own true nature and goals. It is an agency committed to managing the welfare of the poor and disenfranchised. At the same time it is an agency with a commitment to the city of Chicago to "take care " of the Black poor problem. "Taking care" in this instance seems to mean by any means necessary. Whether Blacks are shuttled about from one part of the city to the next, stacked on top of each other like prisoners, or out and out murdered there seems to be an unspoken agenda to get rid of the problem. The dichotomy I see is that while some of the politicians and more upwardly mobile citizens of Chicago want to help poor people. They also want the problem to disappear.
Kerr, Walter. "'Chicago' Comes On Like Doomsday." Rev. of Chicago. New York Times 8 June 1975, Arts and Leisure sec.: 109. New York Times Archives. New York Times. Web. 1 May 2014.
Every morning on my way to school I often pick up the Red Eye newspaper and read the latest news happening in Chicago. As I skim the pages I often see a section that shows the homicide tracker in the city of Chicago. This section of the newspaper shows numerous of deaths occurred in a month in a specific area. Consequently, similar to this homicide tracker on the newspaper the following articles have about the same homicide stories that have occurred in the city of Chicago years ago. In the book The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson illustrates the dreadful events about crime, violence, and illness all leading to death; The Coldest Case: The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre by Jonathan Eig describes a tragic murder of six men by the mob making Chicago seen as a gangland murder capital; The Untouchables by Eliot Ness tells the conflict Eliot Ness experienced trying to put the gangster Al Capone out of business, and For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago by Simon Baatz retells the case of judge Clarence Darrow which was to defend two boys of receiving the death penalty. The combination of these three stories shows serious issues such as crime, corruption and violence that are plaguing Chicago.
San Francisco and Chicago are cities that will always be remembered during their time of massacre. Many were lost but through the losses they gained new structures that protect the citizens today and the ones yet to come. Although the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 were both horrific events that created huge destruction on the United States, they took a big toll in people’s lives in many different ways and encouraged them to take charge and rebuild back their hometowns that they loved.
Growing up on the south side of Chicago in the roughest neighborhood in the city I learned a lot from others and just observing my surroundings. At times, I would always think to myself my situation could always be worse than it was, and that there is always someone who is doing worst off than me. But my situation turned from being in a bad position to being in a position where my mother would come to lose her mother and our home that we had been living in, all in the same year. After losing her mother and bother my mom lost herself in her emotions and shut down on everyone and with that came the loss of a home for me and my siblings and her job. Shortly after my mom began to go back to church and so did we. It was the first time in a log time that we had attended church and it played a big part in a learning experience for me and my siblings. Through the days that came to pass going to church sparked a desire of wanting to help others who had or are struggling to get by. My mentor, Pastor, and teacher deserves appreciation for helping my mother through a hard time and keeping me and my siblings active in a positive manor.
The arrival to Manhattan was like an entry to a whole new world: from the sea, its breezes, color, and landscapes, to the heart of the city beating louder than ever at the Whitehall Terminal. I could smell New York’s bagels in Battery Park with a mixture of the most relaxing scents: the coffee people were holding while walking down the streets, the old walls of Castle Clinton ...
For three days Chicago was filled with chaos and destruction as a wicked flame tore through the city. As it ripped through the city it left people injured and houses demolished leaving people homeless and even death. There was nothing they could do to stop it, people and firemen quaked with terror as they lied in its wake attempting to stop it. To get out of the fires burning wrath, people traveled across town to get to Lincoln Park, and they even jumped into the rivers and lakes to avoid its grasp. The Chicago Fire was the worst thing that had ever happened in Chicago's history because all of the devastation in its wake.
...ious environment. It is typical in Chicago for neighborhoods to be referred to by there Church or the cultural environment of the primary language. This is very well linked to the hierarchy of the cities as such in Mesopotamia, and the delegated jobs and status of its people. This is evident in the neighborhood surrounding the museum, as there is diversity on the streets leading through the area. It is apparent that when you arrive to Hyde Park, the affluence is increased, possibly due to the education of the people in the area and direct access to a fabulous university. I am sure as time goes by, I will have much more information after visiting this area, as to where the societal break may have derived from, or not. I am looking forward to the experience of finding out more and why. Which I truly believe this project was all about. Expanding our where and why.
Chicago When I first watched Chicago at the movie theater, I was not fully satisfied. I wanted more, so I went back to get some and watched it six more times with different friends and family members! Last summer during a visit to my native Mexico City, I had the opportunity to watch drag queens perform several numbers from the movie musical. They did an amazing job, without surpassing the outstanding performances of the actors in the film. Last year, I visited NYC for the first time and indulged in the rows of the Ambassador Theatre.