Whether you’re talking about sandwiches or offensive linemen, Chicago has historically been a place of big things. And while the rest of the country might sneer at the Second City, our town has been home to more than a few firsts too.
How is Chicago No. 1? Allow us to count the ways.
The largest futures and options trading action in the U.S is at the Chicago Board of Trade, which was founded in 1848. Fast forward to 2002, when the CBOT completed a record volume year with total trade of 343,882,529 contracts.
Who needs a saltwater shoreline? Chicago owns the biggest indoor aquarium in the world. The Shedd Aquarium is home to more than 8,000 aquatic animals and has about 2 million visitors each year. Some of the visitors can swim too.
The biggest Tiffany dome in the world is at the Chicago Cultural Center. A Tiffany dome is exactly what it sounds like: a large glass dome that resembles a Tiffany lamp. Chicago’s 38-foot dome is valued at an estimated $35 million, so don’t play ball in the house.
Chicago was the site of the first open-heart surgery, performed in 1892 by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who was pressed into action to remove the knife from the heart of a stabbing victim.
Baseball’s first All-Star Game was played at old Comiskey Park in 1933, where a 38-year-old Babe Ruth homered. Imagine what that baseball would be worth on eBay.
Sue, the giant dinosaur at the Field Museum, is the largest, most complete and best preserved T-Rex skeleton in the world. Let’s all be relieved that the world’s largest T-Rex doesn’t live here, although that could make Chicago the world’s largest buffet.
The Merchandise Mart is the world’s largest commercial building, encompassing 4.2 million square feet and rising 25 stories.
The tallest apartment block in the world is at the John Hancock Center. Floors 44-92 are only residential, and people living in the clouds above often call the doorman downstairs to get a weather report.
The world’s largest public library is the Harold Washington Library Center, which has 756,640 square feet and nine floors. The fiction collection has 200,000 novels and is the largest in the Midwest.
The largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright designed structures is in nearby Oak Park. Sure, it’s not Chicago, but it’s like a brother to the city. The famous architect built 25 Oak Park homes between 1899 and 1913.
Since we’re zooming around the border of the city, note that the first McDonald’s opened in Des Plaines in 1955.
Wrigley is the largest gum maker in the world. Take your pick: Juicy Fruit, Doublemint, Big Red and Spearmint gum, among others.
Chicago knows how to shop, and Montgomery Ward helped spread the word with the first mail-order catalog in 1872. Sure, it was just one page with products and ordering information, but customers ate it up. They’ve been catalog shopping ever since.
The first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building, nine stories and a basement stacked at the northeast corner of LaSalle and Adams Streets in 1885. What constitutes a skyscraper? According to the Chicago Public Library, this building was the first to use a load-carrying structural frame. That means it had a steel frame that supported the entire weight of the walls instead of the walls themselves carrying the weight of the building. It was demolished in 1931.
The first nuclear chain reaction was set off and controlled at the University of Chicago on Dec. 2, 1942, by Dr. Enrico Fermi. If you care to visit the site, go to the school’s campus and look for the 12-foot bronze statue titled “Nuclear Energy.”
In 1935, Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago won the first Heisman Trophy, which at the time was awarded to the Outstanding College Football Player East of the Mississippi River. Oh, what a difference national television makes.
Other firsts and biggest facts
– The Sears Tower is the tallest office building in the world in three of four categories: highest occupied floor; highest roof; and tallest to the top of the antenna.
– NBC’s “These Are My Children,” produced in Chicago, in 1949 was the first daytime soap opera.
– The Lincoln Park Zoo is the largest free public zoo.
– The first Twinkie was made here in 1930.
– The Dan Ryan is the world’s busiest roadway.
– The first Oscar Meyer “Wienermobile” was built here in 1936.
– The Museum of Contemporary Art is the biggest modern art museum.
Get more from the Chicago Fact Book at
www.cityofchicago.org/planning/ChgoFacts/Fun.html
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Edited by Lara Weber (lweber@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
