SW H-014; US-2968658 & US-3439523 Chicago, Illinois, USA

Chicago in the State of Illinois is the third most populous city (2.7 million residents) in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles. Its metropolitan area is home to 9.5 million people.  Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, Today, the city is an international hub for finance, commerce, industry, technology, telecommunications, and transportation, with O'Hare International Airport being the second-busiest airport in the world.

This postcard from Tiffany Smoot (20 March 2014) Swat-bot shows the city skyline in the lower part of the postcard and in the top three panels

(1) the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)
(2) the Buckingham Fountain in Grant park
(3) the Chicago Water Tower

Short Notes on the three panels

(1) Willis Tower (formerly named and still commonly referred to as Sears Tower) is a 108-story, 1,451-foot (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago.  At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years.

(2) Dedicated in 1927, the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park is one of the largest fountains in the world. It is built in a rococo wedding cake style and it is meant to allegorically represent Lake Michigan. It operates from April to October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.

(3) The Chicago Water Tower was originally constructed to house a large water pump, intended to draw water from the Lake Michigan.  It now serves as a Chicago Office of Tourism art gallery.

This second postcard of Chicago focuses on the 'L' (sometimes written as "L" or "el", short for "elevated").  This rapid transit system serves Chicago and surrounding areas and is 102.8 miles (165.4 km) long.

This third postcard of Chicago shows lightning striking the Willis Tower. This postcard of Chicago in the evening came from Kate (30 June 2015) Postcrossing.