Today City holds its official 176th birthday celebration at the Chicago History Museum, here are some fun facts:
- Chicago Flag - The three white stripes in the Chicago Flag represents the north, south and west sides of the city. The top blue stripe represents Lake Michigan and the north branch of the Chicago River; the bottom stripe represents the Great Canal and south branch of the river. The four six-pointed, red stars each represent a significant historical event: Fort Dearborn, Great Chicago Fire of 1871, World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933.
- Chicago has 26 miles of lakefront.
- "The Loop." nickname refers to the area encircled by the elevated ('L') train tracks.
- When the Shedd Aquarium first opened 160 train cars filled with saltwater from the Florida Keys were shipped in to fill its tank with one million of ocean water.
- In 1900, Chicago successfully completed a massive and highly innovative engineering project - reversing the flow of the Chicago River so that it emptied into the Mississippi River instead of Lake Michigan.
- Buckingham Fountain uses 134 water jets to dispense approximately 14,100 gallons of water per minute for it's major displays.
- The Chicago Cultural Center is the home to the world's largest stained glass Tiffany dome.
- The first mail-order business, Montgomery Ward & Co., was established in 1872.
- The entrance arch to the 1893 Chicago Stock Exchange building was taken apart by hand brick by brick and reassembled outside the Art Institute of Chicago. The arch was designed by Louis Sullivan.
- One of the largest shopping district outside of the Chicago loop use to be 63rd and Halsted. Some of the stores included Sears, Woolworths, Flagg Brothers, Three Sisters, Goldblatts, Polk Brothers and South Town Theatre.
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