The Chicago area was initially inhabited by Algonquian peoples, including the Mascouten and Miami. The name “Chicago” is the French version of the Miami-Illinois word shikaakwa(“Stinky Onion”), named for the plants common along the Chicago River. The first settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable who built a farm at the mouth of the Chicago River in the 1780s. In 1829, the Illinois legislature appointed commissioners to locate a canal and lay out the surrounding town, which at the time had a population of less that 100. After 1830, the rich farmlands of northern Illinois attracted Yankee settlers. Real estate operators created a city overnight. The city was built in a low-lying area subject to flooding. In 1856 the city council decided that the entire city should be elevated four to five feet by using a newly available jacking-up process. Between 1870 and 1900 Chicago grew from a city of 299,000 to nearly 1.7 million, at the time the fastest-growing city ever. In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. Developers and citizens began immediate reconstruction on the existing Jeffersonian grid. The building boom that followed saved the city’s status as the transportation and trade hub of the Midwest. Massive reconstruction using the newest materials and methods catapulted Chicago into its status as a city on par with New York. It became the birthplace of modern architecture in the United States. The architecture of Chicago has influenced and reflected the history of American architecture. It features prominent buildings in a variety of styles by many important architects. Since most buildings within the downtown area were destroyed by the Fire, Chicago buildings are noted for their originality rather than their antiquity.

This 3d map of Chicago, at a scale of 1:5000, is centred on the Loop. It is a single resin tile measuring 30x30cm encapsulated in an oak frame. The model can wall hang or be displayed on a desk or table top.