HOST CITY - CHICAGO
"It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago. She outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them." - Mark Twain, 1883
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When Mark Twain wrote those words, Chicago was only 46 years old, but it had grown more than 100-fold from a small trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River into one of the nation’s largest cities, and it wasn’t about to stop. Over the next 20 years, it would quadruple in population, amazing the rest of the world with its ability to repeatedly reinvent itself.
And it still hasn’t stopped. Chicago continues to be a place that many people from diverse backgrounds call home. Before it was a city, it was the home to numerous indigenous peoples, a legacy that continues to frame our relationship with the city, the land, and the environment.
Today, Chicago has become a global city, a thriving center of international trade and commerce, and a place where people of every nationality and background pursue the American dream.
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The Great Fire of 1871
As Chicago grew, its residents took heroic measures to keep pace. In the 1850s, they raised many of the streets five to eight feet to install a sewer system and then raised the buildings. Unfortunately, the buildings, roads and sidewalks were made of wood, and most burned to the ground in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Chicago Fire Department training academy at 558 W. DeKoven St. is on the site of the O’Leary property where the fire began. The Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station at Michigan and Chicago avenues are among the few buildings to have survived the fire.
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"The White City"
Chicago rebuilt quickly. Much of the debris was dumped into Lake Michigan as a landfill, forming the underpinnings for what is now Grant Park, Millennium Park, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Only 22 years later, Chicago celebrated its comeback by holding the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 with its memorable “White City.” One of the Exposition buildings was rebuilt to become the Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago refused to be discouraged even by the Great Depression. In 1933 and 1934, the city held an equally successful Century of Progress Exposition on Northerly Island.
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HOTEL - CROWN PLAZA CHICAGO OHARE
The Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel & Conference Center is 2 miles from O'Hare International Airport in Rosemont, Ill. Allow us to drive for you while you enjoy our complimentary shuttle to and from the airport.
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The hotel is equipped with 55,000 square feet of deluxe event space, including 25 meeting rooms which includes a luxurious and spacious Grand Ballroom. We have several configurations we can suggest to help with "Social Distancing " your meeting or event. We are directly across the street from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Contact our Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel & Conference Center Sales Department to receive a package that best fits your needs. Each guest room has flat-screen TVs and flexible work areas to enhance your productivity while on the road.
