This was my second time going to The Windy City. The last time I was there, I took the time to find as many urban legends as I could. I saw many of the beautiful sights. I looked for as many haunted places as I could. Chicago’s history is weird, unusual, and one of a kind.
Here are 9 facts about Chicago I bet you didn’t know
1) Chicago is home to many haunted places and America’s first serial killer H. H. Holmes.
2) The Nederlander Theater (AKA The Oriental Theater, AKA The Iroquois Theater ) burnt down in 1903 and is known as the deadliest theater fire in the history of the United States, killing up to 604 people. This fire caused a change in the way buildings were made and constructed. Today those codes still stand. Many people report seeing apparitions and ghostly howls while they’re inside. You can visit the haunted Death Alley right behind the theater next time you’re in town.
3) It is said you can see four states from the top of Willis Tower. These states are: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
4) The Chicago River was deemed highly toxic throughout history, efforts to clean it up have helped. The river’s toxicity has been downgraded and is now considered highly polluted.
Even so, in 1925 the SS Eastland steamship capsized killing many people on the ship. Nowadays, people report unembodied voices as they do their morning jog along the Chicago River.
5) Chicago is home to the world’s first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Company, built-in 1885.
6) After the great Chicago fire, the urban planners used this opportunity to reconfigure the entire city and plan out a better urban system for its people.
7) Millennium Park (where the shiny bean is…) attracts about 5 million people yearly, making it the second biggest tourist attraction in the city.
8) The Chicago water tower is the only known public building to survive the Great Chicago Fire that burned the entire city to the ground in 1871.
9) The legend from which the movie Rosemary’s Baby came from originated in Chicago. Originally, The Jane Addams Hull House (A house constructed in 1889) housed European immigrants. At the time, there was a rumor going around that one of the residents was going to have a devil child. The story goes on to say that the pregnant woman gave birth to a child with pointy ears and horns. This story was passed down for generations and ultimately got picked up by an author who wrote a fictional book about a couple moving to New York City and encountering a coven of witches that was eventually turned into a movie. Nevertheless, the Hull house is reportedly very haunted.
Check out some of these unusual places and how I discovered them below. Enjoy!
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