DK Travel : Chicago : History & Culture

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Al Capone

America’s best-known mobster (1899–1947) was Chicago’s “Public Enemy Number One” until jailed in 1931 for tax evasion.
Benny Goodman

Born to poor Russian-Jewish immigrants, jazz great Goodman (1909–86) earned the title “King of Swing.”
Carl Sandburg

One of Chicago’s nicknames “City of big shoulders,” was penned by this author/poet (1878–1967).
Chicago Board of Trade

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was founded in 1848 to create a central marketplace in the fast-developing city, and moved to its current 45-story home in 1930. Designed by Holabird and Root, this landmark building is a stunning example of Art Deco. Capping the majestic limestone building is a huge statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and harvest. A glittering 23-story glass-and-steel addition designed by Helmut Jahn was completed in 1980.
Chicago Cultural Center

Built in 1897 as the city’s first main library, this magnificent Beaux Arts building was described at the time as the “people’s palace.” In 1991, the library moved out, allowing several galleries, performance spaces and a visitor information center to move in. Guided tours offer a historical overview of the building, which occupies an entire block and features one of the world’s largest domes, designed by L. C. Tiffany, and rooms modeled after the Doge’s Palace in Venice and the Acropolis in Athens.
Curtis Mayfield

Soul musician and social activist (1942–99), Mayfield had his first hit For Your Precious Love at age 17.
DuSable Museum of African-American History

Located on the eastern edge of the beautiful Washington Park, this museum is named after Chicago’s first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. The permanent exhibits here celebrate other firsts, such as the first black US astronaut, Major Robert Lawrence, and Chicago’s first and only African-American mayor, Harold Washington. Thought-provoking exhibits include rusted slave shackles and the “Freedom Now” mural, depicting 400 years of African-American history from the early days of slavery to Civil Rights marches.
Ernest Hemingway

Born in Oak Park, this hard-living author (1899–1947) left the suburb of “wide lawns and narrow minds” at age 19.
Harold Washington Library Center

Named after former city Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Afro-American mayor (see 1983: Harold Washington elected Mayor), this is the largest public library building in the country. Its collections, which include a superlative Blues Archive and a vast children’s library, fill an incredible 70 miles (110 km) of shelving. Architects Hammond, Beeby, and Babka incorporated architectural elements of several Chicago landmarks, such as The Rookery and The Art Institute (see The Art Institute of Chicago) in the building’s design: don’t miss the ninth-floor Winter Garden atrium, which soars two stories to a spectacular glass dome.
Hugh Hefner

Lothario and founder of Playboy (1926–), whose first issue sold over 50,000 copies.