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Chicago-Cook County has one of the country's most ethnically diverse populations, with more than 100 ethnic backgrounds represented. This diversity is evident in the distinctive neighborhoods and languages spoken throughout the county. Residents can choose to live in alluring greystones, bungalows, tudors, victorians, modern high rise apartments and vintage courtyard buildings, and participate in hundreds of educational and cultural events throughout the year.
Cultural Landscape
Magnificent buildings by such architects as Louis Sullivan, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Frank Lloyd Wright, and uniquely urban public art by such artists as Picasso, Chagall, and Miro complement each other in vibrant commercial and residential areas.
The world-acclaimed Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute, and the world's largest free zoo in Lincoln Park are among the treasured institutions that attract visitors from across the globe.
The county is home to a wealth of art galleries, blues and jazz night clubs, dance companies, including the world-acclaimed Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and more than 130 repertory and community theaters, including such renowned theaters as The Goodman and Steppenwolf.
Some of the first movies were made in Chicago at the turn of the century. The famed Essenay Studios, on the north side, was home to Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery, and Francis X. Bushman. Today, Chicago-Cook County is second only to Hollywood as a location for motion pictures, industrial films, and television production.
In Chicago-Cook County there is always a focus on the future. A recently built central library graces the South Loop. The Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium on the lakefront is now the largest aquarium in the world. Along with the accompanying Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd is part of the "largest, oldest, and architecturally most impressive cultural center in the United States."
And Navy Pier, built in 1916 to accommodate lake passenger and freight vessels, has been renovated as a recreational and exhibit complex.
Natural Beauty and Natural Resources
The jewel of Chicago-Cook County is the stunning 33-mile Lake Michigan coastline, with 24 miles of public parks and beaches.
With more than 67,700 acres of open space, picnic groves, lakes, golf courses and natural prairies, the Cook County Forest Preserves is one of the largest local open space systems in the United States. The Forest Preserves offer residents and visitors ten professional and amateur golf courses, including the only PGA recognized public golf course in the nation, more than 2000 acres of fishing water, 35 lakes and ponds, a 300-acre botanic garden and a 200-acre zoo, boat ramps, swimming pools, toboggan slides, picnic groves, horseback riding trails, bike trails, and nature centers.
Chicago-Cook County blooms in the summer as neighborhood festivals bring people together to celebrate. And, every year the 319-acre Grant Park, on the lakefront, takes center stage for a series of outdoor concerts and festivals, including the Taste of Chicago and the internationally-acclaimed Chicago Blues Fest.
Chicago-Cook County is rich in sports legends and team legacies. The Cubs at historic Wrigley Field. The White Sox in the new Comiskey Park. The Bears at Soldier Field. The Blackhawks and the World Champion Bulls at the United Center.
Environmental Leader
Lake Michigan is the source of clean drinking water for 8 million people and provides energy for thousands of industries in the metropolitan area. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District is the largest wastewater treatment facility in the country.
Chicago's first water system sent water through wooden pipes in 1842. Today, hundreds of feet below the city and suburbs, a network of tunnels, 22 to 36 feet wide, snakes along a route that runs 131 miles. This remarkable Tunnel and Reservoir Project, designed for flood and pollution control, was named "one of the ten outstanding engineering achievements in the United States" by the National Society of Professional Engineers.
Air quality has surpassed federal standards for more than 355 days per year since 1989. Lead levels decreased 88 percent during the 1980s. In a 1992 study comparing the "clean and green" qualities of metropolitan areas, Chicago ranked 25, ahead of Phoenix, Los Angeles, salt Lake City, Houston, and Philadelphia.
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