Geography Chicago

1 geography

1.1 cityscape
1.2 topography
1.3 communities
1.4 streetscape
1.5 architecture
1.6 monuments , public art
1.7 climate

geography

cityscape

chicago skyline april 18, 2009, northerly island looking northwest.




the chicago river, near north side , streeterville on right, chicago loop, lakeshore east, , illinois center on left, , trump tower @ jog in river in center. view looking west lake shore drive s outer drive bridge.




chicago july 10, 2012, john hancock center looking south.




chicago skyline @ dusk, north avenue beach looking south.



topography

downtown , north side beaches lining waterfront.

chicago located in northeastern illinois on southwestern shores of lake michigan. principal city in chicago metropolitan area, situated in midwestern united states , great lakes region. chicago rests on continental divide @ site of chicago portage, connecting mississippi river , great lakes watersheds. city lies beside huge freshwater lake michigan, , 2 rivers—the chicago river in downtown , calumet river in industrial far south side—flow entirely or partially through chicago. chicago s history , economy closely tied proximity lake michigan. while chicago river historically handled of region s waterborne cargo, today s huge lake freighters use city s lake calumet harbor on south side. lake provides positive effect, moderating chicago s climate; making waterfront neighborhoods warmer in winter , cooler in summer.

when chicago founded in 1837, of building around mouth of chicago river, can seen on map of city s original 58 blocks. overall grade of city s central, built-up areas, relatively consistent natural flatness of overall natural geography, exhibiting slight differentiation otherwise. average land elevation 579 ft (176.5 m) above sea level. lowest points along lake shore @ 578 ft (176.2 m), while highest point, @ 672 ft (205 m), morainal ridge of blue island in city s far south side.

the chicago loop central business district, chicago city of neighborhoods. lake shore drive runs adjacent large portion of chicago s lakefront. of parks along waterfront include lincoln park, grant park, burnham park , jackson park. there twenty-four public beaches across 26 miles (42 km) of waterfront. landfill extends portions of lake providing space navy pier, northerly island, museum campus, , large portions of mccormick place convention center. of city s high-rise commercial , residential buildings close waterfront.

an informal name entire chicago metropolitan area chicagoland . there no precise definition term chicagoland , means entire conurbation. chicago tribune, coined term, includes city of chicago, rest of cook county, 8 nearby illinois counties: lake, mchenry, dupage, kane, kendall, grundy, , kankakee, , 3 counties in indiana: lake, porter , laporte. illinois department of tourism defines chicagoland cook county without city of chicago, , lake, dupage, kane , counties. chicagoland chamber of commerce defines of cook , dupage, kane, lake, mchenry , counties.

wicker park, neighborhood northwest of downtown known mix of bohemian , upscale styles


communities


community areas of city of chicago.

major sections of city include central business district, called loop, , north, south, , west sides. 3 sides of city represented on flag of chicago 3 horizontal white stripes. north side densely populated residential section of city, , many high-rises located on side of city along lakefront. south side largest section of city, encompassing 60% of city s land area. south side contains university of chicago , of facilities of port of chicago.

in late 1920s, sociologists @ university of chicago subdivided city 77 distinct community areas, can further subdivided on 200 informally defined neighborhoods.

streetscape

chicago s streets laid out in street grid grew city s original townsite plat, bounded lake michigan on east, north avenue on north, wood street on west, , 22nd street on south. streets following public land survey system section lines later became arterial streets in outlying sections. new additions city platted, city ordinance required them laid out 8 streets mile in 1 direction , sixteen in other direction (about 1 street per 201 meters 2 in other direction). grid s regularity provided efficient means of developing new real estate property. scattering of diagonal streets, many of them native american trails, cross city (elston, milwaukee, ogden, lincoln, etc.). many additional diagonal streets recommended in plan of chicago, extension of ogden avenue ever constructed.

in 2016, chicago ranked sixth-most walkable large city in united states. many of city s residential streets have wide patch of grass and/or trees between street , sidewalk itself. helps keep pedestrians on sidewalk further away street traffic. chicago s western avenue longest continuous urban street in world. other famous streets include michigan avenue, state street, clark street, , belmont avenue. city beautiful movement inspired chicago s boulevards , parkways.

architecture


the chicago building (1904–05) prime example of chicago school, displaying both variations of chicago window.

the destruction caused great chicago fire led largest building boom in history of nation. in 1885, first steel-framed high-rise building, home insurance building, rose in city chicago ushered in skyscraper era, followed many other cities around world. today, chicago s skyline among world s tallest , dense.

some of united states tallest towers located in chicago; willis tower (formerly sears tower) second tallest building in western hemisphere after 1 world trade center, , trump international hotel , tower third tallest in country. loop s historic buildings include chicago board of trade building, fine arts building, 35 east wacker, , chicago building, 860-880 lake shore drive apartments mies van der rohe. many other architects have left impression on chicago skyline such daniel burnham, louis sullivan, charles b. atwood, john root, , helmut jahn.

the merchandise mart, once first on list of largest buildings in world, listed 44th-largest (as of september 9, 2013), had own zip code until 2008, , stands near junction of north , south branches of chicago river. presently, 4 tallest buildings in city willis tower (formerly sears tower, building own zip code), trump international hotel , tower, aon center (previously standard oil building), , john hancock center. industrial districts, such areas on south side, areas along chicago sanitary , ship canal, , northwest indiana area clustered.

chicago gave name chicago school , home prairie school, 2 movements in architecture. multiple kinds , scales of houses, townhouses, condominiums, , apartment buildings can found throughout chicago. large swaths of city s residential areas away lake characterized brick bungalows built 20th century through end of world war ii. chicago prominent center of polish cathedral style of church architecture. chicago suburb of oak park home famous architect frank lloyd wright, had designed robie house located near university of chicago.

monuments , public art

replica of daniel chester french s statue of republic @ site of world s columbian exposition.

chicago famous outdoor public art donors establishing funding such art far benjamin ferguson s 1905 trust. number of chicago s public art works modern figurative artists. among these chagall s 4 seasons; chicago picasso; miro s chicago; calder s flamingo; oldenburg s batcolumn; moore s large interior form, 1953-54, man enters cosmos , nuclear energy; dubuffet s monument standing beast, abakanowicz s agora; and, anish kapoor s cloud gate has become icon of city. events shaped city s history have been memorialized art works, including great northern migration (saar) , centennial of statehood illinois. finally, 2 fountains near loop function monumental works of art: plensa s crown fountain burnham , bennett s buckingham fountain.

more representational , portrait statuary includes number of works lorado taft (fountain of time, crusader, eternal silence, , heald square monument completed crunelle), french s statue of republic, edward kemys s lions, saint-gaudens s abraham lincoln: man (a.k.a. standing lincoln) , abraham lincoln: head of state (a.k.a. seated lincoln), brioschi s christopher columbus, meštrović s bowman , spearman, dallin s signal of peace, fairbanks s chicago lincoln, boyle s alarm, polasek s memorial masaryk, memorials along solidarity promenade kościuszko, havliček , copernicus chodzinski, strachovský, , thorvaldsen, memorial general logan saint-gaudens, , kearney s moose (w-02-03). number of statues honor recent local heroes such michael jordan (by amrany , rotblatt-amrany), stan mikita, , bobby hull outside of united center; harry caray (by amrany , cella) outside wrigley field, jack brickhouse (by mckenna) next wgn studios, , irv kupcinet @ wabash avenue bridge.

there preliminary plans erect 1:1‑scale replica of wacław szymanowski s art nouveau statue of frédéric chopin found in warsaw s royal baths along chicago s lakefront in addition different sculpture commemorating artist in chopin park 200th anniversary of frédéric chopin s birth.

climate

the city lies within humid continental climate zone (köppen: dfa), , experiences 4 distinct seasons. summers warm hot , humid, july daily average of 75.8 °f (24.3 °c). in normal summer, temperatures can exceed 90 °f (32 °c) many 21 days. winters cold , snowy few sunny days, , normal january high below freezing. spring , autumn mild seasons low humidity. dewpoint temperatures in summer range 55.7 °f (13.2 °c) in june 61.7 °f (16.5 °c) in july. city part of usda plant hardiness zone 6a, transitioning 5b in suburbs.

according national weather service, chicago s highest official temperature reading of 105 °f (41 °c) recorded on july 24, 1934, although midway airport reached 109 °f (43 °c) 1 day prior , recorded heat index of 125 °f (52 °c) during 1995 heatwave. lowest official temperature of −27 °f (−33 °c) recorded on january 20, 1985, @ o hare airport. city can experience extreme winter cold waves , summer heat waves may last several consecutive days. thunderstorms common during spring , summer months may produce hail, high winds, , tornadoes. other major cities, chicago experiences urban heat island, making city , suburbs milder surrounding rural areas, @ night , in winter. also, proximity lake michigan keeps lakefront chicago cooler in summer , milder in winter areas west.

cite error: there <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see page).