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Research Home
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Vernacular Display | English Display |
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Click the  icon to view the hierarchy. |
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Chicago (inhabited place) |
Coordinates: |
| Lat: 41 51 00 N degrees minutes |
Lat: 41.8500 decimal degrees |
| Long: 087 39 00 W degrees minutes |
Long: -87.6500 decimal degrees |
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Note: Located on post-glacial plain beside Lake Michigan, noted for extremes in climate. Site was visited by the French in the 17th century; it was a fur-trading post, then an Army post. It expanded greatly in the 19th century due to its strategic position; was a center of transportation and industry. Much of the city was destroyed by fire in 1871, and rebuilt. It is noted as the birthplace of an important architectural development, the steel-frame skyscraper. |
Names: |
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| Chicago (preferred,C,V,English-P)
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............ | name is derived from an Amerindian word meaning "onion place" |
| שיקגו (C,U,Hebrew )
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| Fort Dearborn (H,V)
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............ | name of fort built in 1816 near remains of another destroyed fort of the same name |
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Hierarchical Position: |
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Cook (county) (P) |
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.................... |
Chicago (inhabited place) (P) |
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Place Types: |
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| inhabited place (preferred, C) |
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was Amerindian center for lake and river traffic, French arrived 1673, town developed rapidly with westward migration of 1820s |
| city (C) |
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| county seat (C) |
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| inland port (C) |
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| transportation center (C) |
............ |
for road, water, rail and air traffic, site of O'Hare International Airport |
| commercial center (C) |
............ |
especially for exchange in commodities futures, trade shows, large banks, insurance companies and the Midwest Stock Exchange |
| industrial center (C) |
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for steel, metal products, chemicals, communications equipment, electronic goods and food products |
| university center (C) |
............ |
for several prestigious universities, including Loyola, DePaul, University of Chicago, Northwestern, and University of Illinois |
| cultural center (C) |
............ |
for development of modern architecture, symphony orchestra, development of jazz, and museums of art, natural history and science; site of World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 |
| scientific center (C) |
............ |
noted as site of 1st self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, development of carbon dating & measurement of speed of light |
| political center (C) |
............ |
notorious for labor disturbances in late 19th cen. & gang warfare surrounding Prohibition of 1920s, noted for powerful mayors |
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