CHICAGO IMAGES

Cloudgate, Chicago, IL
Crown Fountain, Chicago, IL
Pritzker Pavilian, Chicago, IL
American Gothic, Chicago, IL
America Windows, Chicago, IL

Yes, the wind does blow in Chicago, but it does so in a lot of other cities with tall skyscrapers that create a lively air flow at their base. The unobstructed wind off Lake Michigan which actually helps to cool the area in summer and warm it in the winter certainly perpetuates the nickname of Windy City. Newspaper men and politicians have also kept the name alive over the years. The name Chicago appears to have its derivation from the Native American word shikaakwa, meaning wild garlic, which is appropriate for all the fantastic restaurants in the city.

A summer Sunday afternoon tour of the city’s history of skyscrapers on the Chicago River makes for a very pleasant day. The great Chicago fire of 1871 was fortuitously timed at the convergence of significant technological advances in plate glass, electricity and steel-skeleton construction. Millennium Park is located in the heart of downtown and includes such landmarks as Anish Kapoor’s Cloudgate, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain and Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion. All of this and so much more are located across from the Chicago Art Institute and Grant Wood’s American Gothic, Marc Chagall’s America Windows and a collection of priceless art works from around the globe.

Paris is a partner city to Chicago.