Why do they call chicago the windy city?
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With frigid temperatures and strong gusts of wind, it’s no wonder Chicago is known as the Windy City. But there’s more to the story. According to folklore, the city got its nickname at the 1893 World’s Fair. Chicago was vying for the world’s attention, and its boosters wanted to show off the city’s modern architecture. They built a massive, 12-story tall structure called the Electricity Building, which was the tallest building in the world at the time. The building had electric fans to cool the air inside, and the fans created a strong wind that blew around the fairgrounds. The wind was so strong that it knocked over a few smaller buildings and blew hats and skirts up into the air. The wind became a symbol of the city, and Chicago was forever known as the Windy City.
The term ‘Windy City’ is believed to have originated from Chicago’s reputation for being a place of constant change. The city was founded in 1833, and has since gone through many changes and transformations.
Chicago’s nickname is derived from its reputation as a place of constant change. The city was founded in 1833, and has since gone through many changes and transformations.
Good question. Before the mid-1800s, this nickname wasn’t really used to describe Chicago. When Chicago was growing rapidly in the 1840’s, the nickname used to describe the city was the “City of the Big Shoulders.” This nickname came from a poem by James W. Sheahan, who at the time was editor of the Chicago Democrat newspaper. He noted the tall buildings in Chicago, comparing them to the packed-together buildings that made up New York City. After a devastating 1871 fire and the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, Chicago became a city of skyscrapers, and the nickname, “The City of the Big Shoulders,” was appropriate.