PHOTOS: Chicago Navy Pier and other family attractions

Chicago

The Chicago we recognize today, began after the Great Fire of 1871. A great landscape architect convinced civic leaders to dedicate most of the lakefront to park space and lay the city out in an efficient grid patern. Freight railroads trekked here for meat & grain processing that anchored a world commodities market. African-American immigration brought the soul and Al Capone added the muscle. Before Michael Jordan made you believe he could fly, O’Hare Airport helped our nation soar. With that foresight, soul, muscle and soaring imagination, Chicago became a city for the ages.

Cultural Sites
Du Sable Museum of African American History, Harpo Studios, Little Black Pearl, Martin Luther King Drive, Blues Heaven, Harold Washington Cultural Center, Jazz Institute of Chicago and Muntu Dance Theatre anchor … More

Restaurants and Nightclubs
The city of broad shoulders takes a back seat to no one for Gospel, Blues, Jazz, Soul, Hip-Hop and Comedy options. There’s also Soul Food, Barbecue, Seafood, coffeehouses … More

History
In the area they called “Chicakgou”, Pottawattomie Indians who passed through the region, recorded the first non-native settler as Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, an African-French trader … More

Innkeeper & Spas
Changing times have closed and opened the many different black-owned spas in Chicago. It has also given rise to a an exciting black innkeeper in the Southside … More

Shops and Galleries
Known for its opulent department stores and distinctive art galleries, the shopping in Chi-town ranges from low-cost to premium. Find time to visit these boutiques … More

Family Attractions
With Navy Pier, Chicago Children’s Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum of Natural History, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo leading the way … More

General Attractions
Millennium Park has quickly become like a magnet in a bucket of nails – everyone is attracted. But that does not diminish the rewards of shopping on Michigan Avenue, taking in views … More

The Arts
Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cultural Center, History Museum and Theatre District establish Chicago as a world class arts center … More

Historic Sites
The location and magnitude of historic sites in Chicago is synonymous with the struggle for Black America to reach its destiny of full citizenship … More

Bronzeville
The jewel of the Southside known as Bronzeville, was second only to Harlem in providing a legacy of cultural gifts to America and the world. Oscar Micheaux perfected … More

Chicago Human Rights Movement
A number of Black America’s most influential leaders have made their mark here. Beginning in 1930, Elijah Muhammad was sent from Detroit to this destination to expand the Nation of Islam (NOI) … More

Chicago Blues
Though Memphis gave the Blues its commercial launching pad, Chicago ascended to the title of “Blues Capital of America.” The long line of Blues artists who made their recording mark here begins with … More

Chicago Gospel Music
Founded in 1929, the First Church of Deliverance and the great Thomas A. Dorsey put the Windy City on the map for Gospel music … More

Places of Worship
Chicago is famous for its many Gospel-filled churches and Mosque Maryam that fill the African Diaspora with spiritual guidance and cultural richness … More

Chicago Soul Music
Given Soul Music formed in the merger of Gospel, Blues and R&B traditions, the Windy City makes the strongest claim as the “Birthplace of Soul Music.” Its artistic roots and commercialization began here … More

Black Publishers
Segregation and racism in the city had its upside. Several Black entrepreneurs leveraged the systemic exclusion from opportunity and media recognition to found publishing businesses … More

Hiking Chicago-Style
Yearning for nature walking, hiking and backpacking? Try a challenging, stair-climbing workout of wooded trails less than an hour’s drive from the Loop at Swallow Cliff Woods … More

Springfield
Springfield became the Illinois state capital in 1837 with the help of young lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln lived there until he left to become the 16th President … More

Trivia and Famous Residents
The city basks in skyscrapers, shopping, the arts, restaurants and transportation. Its roster of famous residents is also quite impressive by any standard … More