Chicago lakefront skyline Image © Bruno Passigatti, 2007 Used under license from Shutterstock.com
Chicago is a city of contradictions. On one hand it is a chic and sophisticated town, adorned with high-price restaurants, world-class museums and one of the best theater districts in the world. On the other hand, it is a city proud of its blue-collar traditions and ethnic enclaves.In this city, a patron of the ballet in the evening may have been a bleacher bum at Wrigley Field during the day. That person discussing the wonders of Monet at the Art Institute? He probably downed a Chicago dog or deep dish pizza an hour before. The paleontologist at the Field Museum? You might catch him later, listening to the blues at the Checkerboard Lounge. It is this contradiction that makes Chicago unique.The city has had its share of colorful characters; from mobsters to corrupt politicians to a baseball team that conspired with gamblers to purposely lose the World Series. While most cities try to brush the unsavory past under the carpet, Chicago hails it like a folk hero. Most people will speak of Al Capone with the same reverence as Michael Jordan.While proud of the colorful past and blue-collar roots, Chicago remains a stylish and cosmopolitan city. Celebrity chefs like Charlie Trotter have turned the city into a true culinary destination. Yet the same city is an ethnic melting pot, giving the world deep dish pizza, Italian beef sandwich (adorned with au jus, onions, cheese or hot or sweet peppers) and Maxwell Street Polish sandwiches (polish sausage topped with mustard and onions). Although the city did not invent the hot dog, it perfected it. Get a Chicago dog (better to pronounce it "dawg"), with onions, mustard, tomatoes, peppers, a pickle slice and celery salt stuffed inside a poppy seed bun. The museums of Chicago hold some of the world's greatest treasures. Seek out the master artists at the Art Institute. Or, make a call on "Sue," the most complete T Rex ever unearthed. Most Chicagoans will tell you the best art work is free. Chicago was the first major city to mandate all new construction dedicate 1% of the budget to public art. Thanks to this forward thinking, the city streets are adorned with works by Picasso, Calder and Cargill. Some of the best art are the buildings themselves. Following the Great Chicago Fire, the city zealously set about to rebuild. Architects from around the world descended upon the city. Builders such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright became legendary figures due to their works here. Today, the city is full of architectural wonders such as the Rookery, the Wrigley Building and Sears Tower. The tradition continues as ground has been broken for Santiago Calatrava's Spire, an innovative circular residential building rising 2,000 feet from the shores of Lake Michigan. When it opens in 2011, it will be the tallest building in the western Hemisphere. In 1916, poet Carl Sandberg called Chicago "Hog Butcher for the Wor
