The City of Chicago

The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum is America's first and oldest planetarium. Located alongside the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum of Natural History on the shores of Lake Michigan, it was founded and built in 1930 by Max Adler and Philip Fox. In 1987 the Adler Planetarium was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Adler Planetarium hosts plenty of shows and exhibits that are sure to lure children and grown ups alike into astronomy. One of its featured attractions is Shoot for the Moon, a permanent exhibition that highlights exciting stories of space exploration and America's bold plans to return to the Moon.

Visit their website http://www.adlerplanetarium.org for more info.

One well known Downtown Chicago landmark is the Chicago Picasso, or The Picasso. As the name implies, it is a metal sculpture by Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist best known for co-founding the Cubist movement. The Picasso stands 50 feet, weighs more than 160 tons, and can be found in Daley Plaza in the Chicago Loop. It has become a popular meeting spot among Chicagoans because of its unmistakable features.

What or who exactly is depicted in the Chicago Picasso is still debated. Some say it is a bird or an Afghan hound, and some even say it is inspired by a woman named Lydia Corbett, one of Picasso's models. A copper maquette of the structure is entitled Tête de Baboon, or Baboon Head.

Legendary blues and rock and roll legend Bo Diddley passed away Monday, June 2 2008, due to heart failure. Spokeswoman Susan Clary said Bo died at his home in Archer, Fla. Bo Diddley suffered a heart attack August last year, and a stroke three months before that.

Bo Diddley's hard-edged guitar sounds made him one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. As a youth, he started his music career playing guitar in the streets of Chicago and later at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side. He is also widely know for his unusual rectangular guitar.

More info can be found here.

Chicago has been called many names before, and more will come for sure as development of this great city never ends.

One of the most popular Chicago monikers would be "The Windy City." There has been much debate and confusion as to how Chicago got this monicker. Some say because Chicago is a naturally breezy area due to it's proximity to Lake Michigan. Some say it came from former rival city Cincinnati, describing Chicago as "windy" or full of bluster. The most popular origin of this nickname is that it was coined by the editor of the New York Sun, Charles Anderson Dana, in 1890 in reference to the city's claims for the World's Columbian Exposition.

Another popular nickname for Chicago is "Second City." Some people think that this nickname refers to Chicago being the second largest city, when in actuality it refers to Chicago's rebirth after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Here are some more minor Chicago nicknames:

• Chi-Town or Chitown
• Chicagoland
• The White City
• City by the Lake
• City of the Big Shoulders
• City of Broad Shoulders
• City of the Century
• The 312
• City on the Make
• The City That Works
• The Big Onion
• City in a Garden
• Hog-Butcher to the World
• Beirut by the Lake
• New York Done Right
• Illville
• I Will City
• Paris on the Prairie
• Sweet Home
• Heart of America
• The 773
• The Alley Capital of America

Do you have a nickname that is not on this list?

Although we're still a couple of months short of November, there's nothing like a good scare. Dream Reaper's Haunted House and Nightmares Inc. will give you just that. One of Chicago's top haunted house attractions, Dream Reaper is a favorite amongst young people looking for a cheap thrills and plenty of earsplitting shrills.

Located at Melrose Park, IL, Dream Reaper is a 14000 SqFt. haunted house with over 22 rooms actors and animatronics alike with sole purpose of scaring the living daylight out of their visitors. Kids are not encouraged to come, but will be welcomed with an adult's consent.

Head over their website for more info and check out their gallery.

Buddy Guy's Legends is hands down one of the best Blues bar in Chicago. Since it opened in 1989, the who's who of Blues and Rock graced its stage including Bo Diddley, The Black Crowes, and ZZ Top just to name a few. As the name suggests, Buddy Guy's is owned by Buddy Guy.

Buddy Guy is a multi Grammy Award-winning blues and rock guitarist. He is well known for his performances which involves playing the guitar with his feet or teeth and playing it behind his back. He is known to be a major influence to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton's music.

Visit Buddy Guy's Legends website for more information about Buddy and his bar.

Although the 50-foot Berwyn Spindle was taken down Friday to make room for a new Walgreens, the top two cars - a Volkswagen Beetle and a BMW - was kept by the mall management in hopes of resurrecting the towering artwork.

Dustin Schuler, the creator and copyright owner of the sculpture, is optimistic about the deal, but has not been contacted yet about the details.