Culture and contemporary life Chicago

1 culture , contemporary life

1.1 entertainment , arts
1.2 tourism
1.3 cuisine
1.4 literature

culture , contemporary life


a chicago jazz club



the national hellenic museum in greektown 1 of several ethnic museums comprising chicago cultural alliance.

the city s waterfront location , nightlife has attracted residents , tourists alike. on third of city population concentrated in lakefront neighborhoods rogers park in north south shore in south. city has many upscale dining establishments many ethnic restaurant districts. these districts include mexican american neighborhoods, such pilsen along 18th street, , la villita along 26th street; puerto rican enclave of paseo boricua in humboldt park neighborhood; greektown, along south halsted street, west of downtown; little italy, along taylor street; chinatown in armour square; polish patches in west town; little seoul in albany park around lawrence avenue; little vietnam near broadway in uptown; , desi area, along devon avenue in west ridge.

downtown center of chicago s financial, cultural, governmental , commercial institutions , site of grant park , many of city s skyscrapers. many of city s financial institutions, such cbot , federal reserve bank of chicago, located within section of downtown called loop , eight-block five-block area of city streets encircled elevated rail tracks. term loop largely used locals refer entire downtown area well. central area includes near north side, near south side, , near west side, loop. these areas contribute famous skyscrapers, abundant restaurants, shopping, museums, stadium chicago bears, convention facilities, parkland, , beaches.

lincoln park contains lincoln park zoo , lincoln park conservatory. river north gallery district features nation s largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of new york city.

lakeview home boystown (pronounced boys town), which, along andersonville, of best-known lgbt neighborhoods in nation. each year in june, boystown hosts chicago pride parade, 1 of world s largest on 1,000,000 people in attendance.

greetings chicago mural in logan square

the south side neighborhood of hyde park home of former president barack obama. contains university of chicago (u of c), ranked 1 of world s top ten universities; , museum of science , industry. 6-mile (9.7 km) long burnham park stretches along waterfront of south side. 2 of city s largest parks located on side of city: jackson park, bordering waterfront, hosted world s columbian exposition in 1893, , site of aforementioned museum; , west sits washington park. 2 parks connected wide strip of parkland called midway plaisance, running adjacent university of chicago. south side hosts 1 of city s largest parades, annual african american bud billiken parade , picnic, travels through bronzeville washington park. ford motor company has automobile assembly plant on south side in hegewisch, , of facilities of port of chicago on south side.

the west side holds garfield park conservatory, 1 of largest collections of tropical plants in u.s. city. prominent latino cultural attractions found here include humboldt park s institute of puerto rican arts , culture , annual puerto rican people s parade, national museum of mexican art , st. adalbert s church in pilsen. near west side holds university of illinois @ chicago , once home oprah winfrey s harpo studios.

the city s distinctive accent, made famous use in classic films blues brothers , television programs saturday night live skit bill swerski s superfans , advanced form of inland northern american english. dialect can found in other cities bordering great lakes such cleveland, milwaukee, detroit, , rochester, new york, , prominently features rearrangement of vowel sounds, such short sound in cat , can sound more kyet outsiders. accent remains associated city.

entertainment , arts

renowned chicago theater companies include goodman theatre in loop; steppenwolf theatre company , victory gardens theater in lincoln park; , chicago shakespeare theater @ navy pier. broadway in chicago offers broadway-style entertainment @ 5 theaters: ford center performing arts oriental theatre, bank of america theatre, cadillac palace theatre, auditorium building of roosevelt university, , broadway playhouse @ water tower place. polish language productions chicago s large polish speaking population can seen @ historic gateway theatre in jefferson park. since 1968, joseph jefferson awards given annually acknowledge excellence in theater in chicago area. chicago s theater community spawned modern improvisational theater, , includes prominent groups second city , i.o. (formerly improvolympic).

the chicago symphony orchestra (cso) performs @ symphony center, , recognized 1 of best orchestras in world. performing regularly @ symphony center chicago sinfonietta, more diverse , multicultural counterpart cso. in summer, many outdoor concerts given in grant park , millennium park. ravinia festival, located 25 miles (40 km) north of chicago, summer home of cso, , favorite destination many chicagoans. civic opera house home lyric opera of chicago. lithuanian opera company of chicago founded lithuanian chicagoans in 1956, , presents operas in lithuanian.

the joffrey ballet , chicago festival ballet perform in various venues, including harris theater in millennium park. chicago has several other contemporary , jazz dance troupes, such hubbard street dance chicago , chicago dance crash.

other live-music genre part of city s cultural heritage include chicago blues, chicago soul, jazz, , gospel. city birthplace of house music, popular form of electronic dance music, , industrial music , site of influential hip-hop scene. in 1980s , 90s, city global center house , industrial music, 2 forms of music created in chicago, being popular alternative rock, punk, , new wave. city has been epicenter rave culture, since 1980s. flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth chicago indie. annual festivals feature various acts, such lollapalooza , pitchfork music festival. 2007 report on chicago music industry university of chicago cultural policy center ranked chicago third among metropolitan u.s. areas in size of music industry , fourth among u.s. cities in number of concerts , performances .

chicago has distinctive fine art tradition. of twentieth century, nurtured strong style of figurative surrealism, in works of ivan albright , ed paschke. in 1968 , 1969, members of chicago imagists, such roger brown, leon golub, robert lostutter, jim nutt, , barbara rossi produced bizarre representational paintings.

chicago contains number of large, outdoor works well-known artists. these include chicago picasso, miró s chicago, flamingo , flying dragon alexander calder, agora magdalena abakanowicz, monument standing beast jean dubuffet, batcolumn claes oldenburg, cloud gate anish kapoor, crown fountain jaume plensa, , 4 seasons mosaic marc chagall.

chicago has nationally televised thanksgiving parade occurs annually. mcdonald s thanksgiving parade seen across nation on wgn-tv , wgn america, featuring variety of diverse acts community, marching bands across country, , parade in city feature inflatable balloons every year.

tourism


ferries offer sightseeing tours , water-taxi transportation along chicago river , lake michigan.



the magnificent mile hosts numerous upscale stores, landmarks chicago water tower



aerial view of navy pier @ night

in 2014, chicago attracted 50.17 million domestic leisure travelers, 11.09 million domestic business travelers , 1.308 million overseas visitors. these visitors contributed more us$13.7 billion chicago s economy. upscale shopping along magnificent mile , state street, thousands of restaurants, chicago s eminent architecture, continue draw tourists. city united states third-largest convention destination. 2011 study walk score ranked chicago fourth-most walkable of fifty largest cities in united states. conventions held @ mccormick place, south of soldier field. historic chicago cultural center (1897), serving chicago public library, houses city s visitor information center, galleries , exhibit halls. ceiling of preston bradley hall includes 38-foot (12 m) tiffany glass dome. grant park holds millennium park, buckingham fountain (1927), , art institute of chicago. park hosts annual taste of chicago festival. in millennium park, there reflective cloud gate sculpture. cloud gate, public sculpture indian-born british artist anish kapoor, centerpiece of at&t plaza in millennium park. also, outdoor restaurant transforms ice rink in winter season. 2 tall glass sculptures make crown fountain. fountain s 2 towers display visual effects led images of chicagoans faces, along water spouting lips. frank gehry s detailed, stainless steel band shell, jay pritzker pavilion, hosts classical grant park music festival concert series. behind pavilion s stage harris theater music , dance, indoor venue mid-sized performing arts companies, including chicago opera theater , music of baroque.

navy pier, located east of streeterville, 3,000 ft (910 m) long , houses retail stores, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls , auditoriums. in summer of 2016, navy pier have constructed new dw60 ferris wheel. dutch wheels, world renowned company manufactures ferris wheels, selected design new wheel. feature 42 navy blue gondolas can hold 8 adults , 2 kids. have entertainment systems inside gondolas climate controlled environment. dw60 stand @ approximately 196 ft (60 m), 46 ft taller previous wheel. new dw60 first in united states , sixth tallest in u.s. chicago first city in world ever erect ferris wheel.

on june 4, 1998, city officially opened museum campus, 10-acre (4.0 ha) lakefront park, surrounding 3 of city s main museums, each of of national importance: adler planetarium & astronomy museum, field museum of natural history, , shedd aquarium. museum campus joins southern section of grant park, includes renowned art institute of chicago. buckingham fountain anchors downtown park along lakefront. university of chicago oriental institute has extensive collection of ancient egyptian , near eastern archaeological artifacts. other museums , galleries in chicago include chicago history museum, driehaus museum, dusable museum of african american history, museum of contemporary art, peggy notebaert nature museum, polish museum of america, museum of broadcast communications, pritzker military library, chicago architecture foundation, , museum of science , industry.

with estimated completion date of 2020, barack obama presidential center housed @ university of chicago in hyde park , include both obama presidential library , offices of obama foundation.

the willis tower (formerly named sears tower) popular destination tourists. willis tower has observation deck open tourists year round high views overlooking chicago , lake michigan. observation deck includes enclosed glass balcony extends 10 feet out on side of building. tourists able straight down.

in 2013, chicago chosen 1 of top ten cities in united states visit restaurants, skyscrapers, museums, , waterfront, readers of condé nast traveler.

cuisine


chicago-style pizza



a polish market in chicago

chicago lays claim large number of regional specialties reflect city s ethnic , working-class roots. included among these nationally renowned deep-dish pizza; style said have originated @ pizzeria uno. chicago-style thin crust popular in city.

the chicago-style hot dog, typically all-beef hot dog, loaded array of toppings includes pickle relish, yellow mustard, pickled sport peppers, tomato wedges, dill pickle spear , topped off celery salt on poppy seed bun. enthusiasts of chicago-style dog frown upon use of ketchup garnish, may prefer add giardiniera.

there several distinctly chicago sandwiches, among them italian beef sandwich, thinly sliced beef simmered in au jus , served on italian roll sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera. popular modification combo—an italian beef sandwich addition of italian sausage. maxwell street polish, grilled or deep-fried kielbasa — on hot dog roll, topped grilled onions, yellow mustard, , hot sport peppers.

ethnically originated creations include chicken vesuvio, roasted bone-in chicken cooked in oil , garlic next garlicky oven-roasted potato wedges , sprinkling of green peas. puerto rican-influenced jibarito, sandwich made flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread. there mother-in-law, tamale topped chili , served on hot dog bun. tradition of serving greek dish, saganaki while aflame, has origins in chicago s greek community. appetizer, consists of square of fried cheese, doused metaxa , flambéed table-side.

two of world s decorated restaurants , receiving michelin guide 3 star award, alinea , grace both located in chicago. in addition, number of well-known chefs have had restaurants in chicago, including charlie trotter, rick tramonto, grant achatz, , rick bayless. in 2003, robb report named chicago country s exceptional dining destination .

carl sandburg s famous description of city hog butcher world/tool maker, stacker of wheat/ player railroads , nation s freight handler,/ stormy, husky, brawling, city of big shoulders.


literature

chicago literature finds roots in city s tradition of lucid, direct journalism, lending strong tradition of social realism. in encyclopedia of chicago, northwestern university professor bill savage describes chicago fiction prose tries capture essence of city, spaces , people . challenge writers chicago frontier outpost transformed global metropolis in span of 2 generations. narrative fiction of time, of in style of high-flown romance , genteel realism , needed new approach describe urban social, political, , economic conditions of chicago. nonetheless, chicagoans worked hard create literary tradition stand test of time, , create city of feeling out of concrete, steel, vast lake, , open prairie. notable chicago fiction focuses on city itself, social criticism keeping exultation in check.

at least, 3 short periods in history of chicago have had lasting influence on american literature. these include time of great chicago fire 1900, became known chicago literary renaissance in 1910s , 1920s, , period of great depression through 1940s.

what become influential poetry magazine founded in 1912 harriet monroe, working art critic chicago tribune. magazine discovered such poets gwendolyn brooks, james merrill, , john ashbery. t. s. eliot s first professionally published poem, love song of j. alfred prufrock , first published poetry. contributors have included ezra pound, william butler yeats, william carlos williams, langston hughes, , carl sandburg, among others. magazine instrumental in launching imagist , objectivist poetic movements.