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Eating & Drinking Chicago
25 Reviews Beginning on Thanksgiving Day, and continuing until Christmas Day, there is an old world outdoor German Winter Market in Daley Plaza. It's so much fun, I go there every year, and am always bringing...
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Festivals & Holidays Chicago
18 Reviews My husband can't adequately explain to me why he wanted to do the Polar Bear Plunge, it's just one of those things that he felt like he needed to do. So after years of talking about it, he finally did...
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People Chicago
13 Reviews Chicago lies in the midwest of the US and is considered an almost exemplary city of this region. As such, it tends to carry those midwestern values such as being helpful. Of course, you'll still find...
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History Chicago
14 Reviews Although the 300 Chicagoans who died and all of those who lost property didn't see the Chicago fire as a blessing, it did do wonders for the city of Chicago. The fire cleared the city of it's old...
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Inventions Chicago
1 Review THINGS THAT WERE INVENTED IN CHICAGO vacuum cleaner [1869] elevated railway [1883] skyscrapers [1885] softball [1887] open heart surgery [1893] ferris wheel [1893] zipper [1896] fixed trunnion bascule...
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Theater & Music Chicago
13 Reviews State Street is once again thronged with holiday shoppers, and now you can see street puppet theatre in small "carts". (I'm sure Mayor Daley makes sure that they are licensed.) This one featured a...
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Viola sororiaIn 1907, Illinois schoolchildren voted to select the state flower and selected the Violet. The General Assembly approved a bill to make this selection official in 1908.The Purple Violet (also known as Common Blue Violet) is a native perennial plant that flowers from mid- to late spring, and lasts about 1-1½ months.
Cardinalis cardinalisThe Northern Cardinal is a medium-sized songbird with a short, very thick bill and a prominent crest. Cardinals often sit with a hunched-over posture and with the tail pointed straight down. Male cardinals are bright red all over, with a reddish bill and black mask on their faces immediately around the bill. Females are light brown with reddish highlights without the black mask.Males are 22.2 to 23.5 cm long whereas females are 20.9 to 21.6 cm long. The average weight of adult cardinals is 42 to 48 grams. Immature cardinals are similar in appearance to females, but have a grey-black rather than orange-red bill.
If you were to draw an imaginary line from the suburbs of Chicago to Champaign, then to Springfield and on to St. Louis, and if you then stayed on the northwestern side of that line, I would say you are probably culturally in the Midwest. The Midwest isn't the most exciting part of the US, but it is kind of fun and quirky in its own way. People tend to be individualistic, even if they are conservative at heart. They generally do their own thing, like to talk to people, and pursue their own interests. They do tend to be a bit isolated form the world at large. Don't expect them to speak two or three languages like people in Chicago, and avoid talking religion and politics, and you'll find them a warm and welcoming folk.This picture was taken in Prairie du Rocher
As you drive southwards in Illinois out of Chicago, the presumed starting point for most people, you gradually move from one cultural region to another. You transition from a city, through suburbs, to the Midwest, to the South. Somewhere around an imaginary line between Springfield and Effingham you begin the change from the midwest to the South. This cross seemed to almost announce it, "You are entering the lands of the Christian fundamentalists", which is one aspect of a deeper change about to occur incrementally. Service in restaurants becomes more informal and slower, accents become drawls, the food changes (fried), the music changes to country, buildings sit closer to the ground, and in any regard that matters, you begin the slow, gradual, entry to the cultural entity called Dixie. This change takes place gradually, but by the time you cross into the counties below the forests, you...
In 1967, Pablo Picasso donated a sculpture to the City of Chicago. Rising 50 feet (15 meters) and weighing 162 tons (146,966 kilograms), the rusted iron sculpture was not named by Picasso, and is simply known as The Picasso Sculpture. No one really knows what the work represents either, and each person must decide for himself what the artist had in mind when he created this sculpture.
The arts are very important to the people of Chicago. Consequently, there are many public works of art throughout the city, most notably large modernist sculptures by such artists as Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Miró, Jean Dubuffet, and Pablo Picasso. Alexander Calder's Flamingo is a 50-ton (45,360-kilogram) iron sculpture that is the centerpiece of the Federal Plaza on South Dearborn Street.
I did not know where else to put this interesting information about the solution to the floods in Galena.While in Galena, we took a tour and were most interested in the big Green flood gates.To look at the Galena River as it is today, it seemed unlikely to us that it would be the cause of flooding. Yet, we were told that Galena had created a levy and changed the way the river was used as well as adding the flood gates. Why? Because of all the many floods they had experienced through the years. In 1937 a town committee prepared a report to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers urging support to build a levy.You have to know a little history to understand. Most of the people in the early days arrived at Galena by keelboats and steamboats. At that time, the Galena River was navigable for all Mississippi River steamers, even a low tide. Later, Galena became the most important steam port on the...
Click photo because it is a PANORAMICThe variety of life in Illinois results from the state's special geographic position and geologic history. Along its north-south axis, Illinois is one of the longest states in the Midwest. Thus, the north has cooler summers and colder winters; the south has mild winters and hot summers. These mixed temperatures and moistures attribute to a rich diversity of wildlife year-round.Illinois has woodlands along the moist river valleys; grasslands in the plains; the coastal plains of the southern part of the state resemble forest & swamps of Mississippi!Because of our rich soils, mineral deposits, varied plants and animals, Illinois has always attracted the following:Farmers (Illinois is known as an Agricultural State), Miners & Oil Speculators (Illinois has coal mines & oil rigs in Southern Illinois), Construction Workers (Chicago is famous for its varied...
You can tell a great deal about a state by its choice of Symbols, its Famous People, & its Reputation as a 'body of People.First, & most importantly, the "body of people" in the State of Illinois are known for being friendly & helpful. That Midwestern, downhome attitude is refreshing.It is the children of Illinois who have chosen the State Symbols:White Oak Tree (tree) which represents the strength of the state.Violet (flower) points out the beauty of Illinois.Cardinal (bird) signifies the state's bright determination & inventiveness.Monarch Butterfly (insect) represents the state's ability to change.Bluegill indicates the state's reputation for fighting for what it wants.White-tailed Deer (animal) shows the state's gentle, nurturing nature.Big Bluestem Prairie Grass represents the state's size & flexibility.Wise choices for a State of "Superior Men"!When it comes to famous people, I see...
Monument With Standing Beast by Jean Dubuffet looms over the plaza outside the Thompson Center (formerly the State of Illinois Center) on West Randolph Street. The sculpture was constructed of ten tons (9,072 kilograms) of white fiberglass outlined in black.
The Peninsula Chicago Chicago
4 Reviews and 305 Opinions The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago is an absolutely wonderful hotel! Every detail is thought through and...
Hilton Springfield Springfield
4 Reviews and 147 Opinions The Hilton Springfield Hotel can be seen for miles. We were never lost because we could always cage...
Hotel Arista Naperville
54 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Illinois attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Illinois sightseeing.
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Q: my fiancee loves fishing! we just moved to aurora,il not so long ago.. i would appreciate your suggestion where to go fishing and...
A: Check out this website, I think it will help http://www.ifishillinois.org/
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