Top 73 Most Famous Quotes About Chicago (WELCOME)

Top 10 Most Famous Quotes About Chicago (BEST)

“There seems to be a different Chicago around every street corner, behind every bar, and within every apartment, two-flat, cottage, or bungalow. City of immigrants or city of heartless plutocrats, say what you will, Chicago almost defies interpretation. In many ways, Chicago is like a snake that sheds its skin every thirty years or so and puts on a new coat to conform to a new reality.”
Dominic A. Pacyga

I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in every chitling and sparerib. It is alive from snout to tail. - H. L. Mencken — I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in every chitling and sparerib. It is alive from snout to tail. – H. L. Mencken

A city that was to live by night after the wilderness had passed. A city that was to forge out of steel and blood-red neon its own peculiar wilderness. - Nelson Algren — A city that was to live by night after the wilderness had passed. A city that was to forge out of steel and blood-red neon its own peculiar wilderness. – Nelson Algren

Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world. - Frank Lloyd Wright — Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most **beautiful** great city left in the world. – **Frank Lloyd Wright**

It is the most perfect presentation of nineteenth-century individualistic industrialism I have ever seen. Chicago is one hoarse cry for discipline. - H.G. Wells — It is the most perfect presentation of nineteenth-century individualistic industrialism I have ever seen. Chicago is one hoarse cry for discipline. – **H.G. Wells**

“Chicago is a city where the practical and the inspirational exist in harmony; where visionaries who made no small plans rebuilt after a great fire and taught the world to reach new heights. It’s a bustling metropolis with the warmth of a small town; where the world already comes together every day to live and work and reach for a dream—a dream that no matter who we are, where we come from; no matter what we look like or what hand life has dealt us; with hard work, and discipline, and dedication, we can make it if we try.”
Barack Obama

Chicago’s neighborhoods have always been the city’s greatest strength. - Jane Byrne — Chicago’s neighborhoods have always been the city’s greatest **strength**. – Jane Byrne

I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America. - Sarah Bernhardt — I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America. – Sarah Bernhardt

I have struck a city - a real city - and they call it Chicago. I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages. - Rudyard Kipling — I have struck a city – a real city – and they call it Chicago. I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages. – Rudyard Kipling

The best food is in Chicago. There are great restaurants everywhere, from fancy places to burger joints. - Steve Carell — The best food is in Chicago. There are great restaurants everywhere, from fancy places to burger joints. – Steve Carell

16 Thought-Provoking Quotes About Chicago

“It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago-she outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them. She is always a novelty; for she is never the Chicago you saw when you passed through the last time.”
Mark Twain

My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here. - Oprah Winfrey — My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here. – **Oprah Winfrey**

Chicago is my hometown and will always have a special place in my heart. - Kenneth Choi — Chicago is my hometown and will always have a special place in my heart. – Kenneth Choi

“Chicago is a town, a city that doesn’t ever have to measure itself against any other city. Other places have to measure themselves against it. It’s big, it’s outgoing, it’s tough, it’s opinionated, and everybody’s got a story.”
Anthony Bourdain

I must confess a shameful secret I love Chicago best in the cold. - Erik Larson — I must confess a shameful secret: I **love** Chicago best in the cold. – Erik Larson

Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring. - Nelson Algren — Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring. – Nelson Algren

Let me tell your something. I’m from Chicago. I don’t break. - Barack Obama — Let me tell your something. I’m from Chicago. I don’t break. – Barack Obama

“One of the hallmarks of Chicago is that we do so many things in an original manner. What other city has made a river flow backwards? What other city makes traffic flow backwards?”
Mike Royko

It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes; it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. - Elwood Blues — It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes; it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. – Elwood Blues

It’s one of the greatest cities on the planet. My heart beats differently when I’m in Chicago. It slows down and I feel more at ease. - Jeremy Piven — It’s one of the greatest cities on the planet. My heart beats differently when I’m in Chicago. It slows down and I feel more at ease. – Jeremy Piven

“I’ve reported murders, scandals, marriages, premieres, and national political conventions. I’ve been amused, intrigued, outraged, enthralled and exasperated by Chicago. And I’ve come to love this American giant, viewing it as the most misunderstood, most underrated city in the world. There is none other quite like my City of Big Shoulders.”
Irv Kupcinet

But when I go to Chicago, I know I'm home. - Hank Sauer — But when I go to Chicago, I know I’m home. – Hank Sauer

Gun violence in Chicago is unacceptable. It threatens everything we have done together and all of the progress we have made in other areas. - Rahm Emanuel — Gun violence in Chicago is unacceptable. It threatens everything we have done together and all of the progress we have made in other areas. – Rahm Emanuel

“Chicago still remains a Mecca of the Midwest—people from both coasts are kind of amazed how good life is in Chicago, and what a good culture we’ve got. You can have a pretty wonderful artistic life and never leave Chicago.”
Harold Ramis

“Out in Chicago, the only genuinely civilized city in the New World, they take the fine arts seriously and get into such frets and excitements about them as are raised nowhere else save by baseball, murder, political treachery, foreign wars, and romantic loves almost one fancies the world bumped by a flying asteroid, and the Chicago River suddenly turned into the Seine.”
Henry Mencken

“My mom and dad are from the streets. My mom’s from Chicago. My dad’s from Memphis. My dad got out of school and got with my mom. They were hustlers. They were from the streets. They were doing their thing. The streets ain’t got no love for the streets. You can light up the streets, or be a victim of the streets.”
Young Dolph

7 Quotes About Chicago That Will Inspire You To Travel

“Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin’s cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York.”
Mary Schmich

Going to Chicago was like going out of the world. - Muddy Waters — Going to Chicago was like going out of the world. – Muddy Waters

It is wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago. - Dan Quayle — It is wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago. – Dan Quayle

“Chicago is not the most corrupt of cities. The state of New Jersey has a couple. Need we mention Nevada? Chicago, though, is the Big Daddy. Not more corrupt, just more theatrical, more colorful in its shadiness.”
Studs Terkel

“Dear Chicago, when I wake up in the morning and see your skyline – the terra cotta of the Wrigley Building, the height of the Willis Tower, the shiny sides of my beloved Trump Tower – I know I’m home. I feel a certain energy walking between your spires, but recognize that what makes you special to me is that my roots are here.”
Bill Rancic

“I look forward to going to Chicago because it’s where I grew up, and the food there is so munch. Especially during the winter, I get deep dish pizza or Italian beef, and it warms me up. It’s something I don’t normally get, especially here in L.A. where you’re always trying to be healthy.”
Ron Funches

“I have lived in other cities but been inside of only one. I once wore all the windows of Chicago and all its doorways on a key ring. Salons, mansions, alleys, courtrooms, depots, factories, hotels, police cells, the lake front, the rooftops and the sidewalks were my haberdashery.”
Ben Hect

5 Quotes About Chicago That Will Make You Fall In Love With Its People

“Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.”
Carl Sandburg

I am an organic Chicagoan. Living there has given me a multiplicity of characters to aspire for. I hope to live there the rest of my days. - Gwendolyn Brooks — I am an organic Chicagoan. Living there has given me a multiplicity of **characters** to aspire for. I **hope** to live there the rest of my days. – Gwendolyn Brooks

I'm impressed with the people from Chicago. Hollywood is hype. New York is talk. Chicago is work. - Michael Douglas — I’m impressed with the people from Chicago. Hollywood is hype. New York is talk. Chicago is work. – Michael Douglas

I love Chicago; it is unique in the world. So much intellect, so many artistic voices – it has fantastic potential (as an Olympic candidate). - Jerome Sans — I love Chicago; it is unique in the world. So much intellect, so many artistic voices – it has fantastic **potential** (as an Olympic candidate). – Jerome Sans

Blessed are the people of Chicago, and blessed the strangers in their midst, in the article of malt liquor; for it is excellent, it is honest, and it is abundant. - James Parton — Blessed are the people of Chicago, and blessed the strangers in their midst, in the article of malt liquor; for it is excellent, it is **honest**, and it is abundant. – James Parton

5 Quotes About Chicago and Music

Anywhere in the world you hear a Chicago bluesman play, it’s a Chicago sound born and bred. - Ralph Metcalfe — Anywhere in the world you hear a Chicago bluesman play, it’s a Chicago sound born and bred. – Ralph Metcalfe

Sometimes words are just music themselves. Like ‘Chicago’ is a very musical sounding name. - Tom Waits — Sometimes words are just **music** themselves. Like ‘Chicago’ is a very musical sounding name. – Tom Waits

Theater in Chicago will always be my first love. - William Petersen — Theater in Chicago will always be my first love. – William Petersen

I was the music director at a dinner theater called the 'Pheasant Run Theater' in the suburbs of Chicago, and that was my side gig while I acted. - Sean Hayes — I was the music director at a dinner theater called the ‘Pheasant Run Theater’ in the suburbs of Chicago, and that was my side gig while I acted. – Sean Hayes

I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s. - Lionel Hampton — I worked hard **learning** harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s. – Lionel Hampton

4 Quotes About Chicago and Its Weather

“Everyone here seems to appreciate the sunshine way more than we do in California. We tend to take it for granted, but in Chicago, it’s like Woodstock love every time it gets above 70 degrees.”
Miranda Rae Mayo

That weekend the city blushed with a great heat wave but on Monday it rained, cooling the ache in the street’s burn. - Daniel Amory — That weekend the city blushed with a great heat wave but on Monday it rained, cooling the ache in the street’s burn. – Daniel Amory

You know what they say about Chicago. If you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes. - Ralph Kiner — You know what they say about Chicago. If you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes. – Ralph Kiner

I just know that I could never spend a winter in Chicago or some place like that. I'm just not a cold weather person. - Emily Robinson — I just know that I could never spend a winter in Chicago or some place like that. I’m just not a cold weather person. – Emily Robinson

9 Funny Quotes About Chicago

“I’m a little hoarse tonight. I’ve been living in Chicago for the past two months, and you know how it is, yelling for help on the way home every night. Things are so tough in Chicago that at Easter time, for bunnies the little kids use porcupines.”
Fred Allen

Loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose. - Nelson Algren — Loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose. – Nelson Algren

I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February. - Gary Cole — I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February. – Gary Cole

Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. - Dave Barry — Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more **intelligent**. – Dave Barry

I'd rather be a lamppost in Chicago than a millionaire in any other city. - William A. Hulbert — I’d rather be a lamppost in Chicago than a millionaire in any other city. – William A. Hulbert

There's only one thing for Chicago to do, and that's to move to a better neighborhood. - Herman Fetzer — There’s only one thing for Chicago to do, and that’s to move to a better neighborhood. – Herman Fetzer

I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west. - Richard Jeni — I think that’s how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, ‘Gee, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold enough. Let’s go west. – Richard Jeni

Hell has been described as a pocket edition of Chicago. - Ashley Montagu — Hell has been described as a pocket edition of Chicago. – Ashley Montagu

Oh my god, this makes me laugh so much I once saw this young woman fall in a bar in Chicago, and she got up and she's like, 'These dang Sketcher Shape-ups!'. - Tim Robinson — Oh my god, this makes me **laugh** so much: I once saw this young woman fall in a bar in Chicago, and she got up and she’s like, ‘These dang Sketcher Shape-ups!’. – Tim Robinson

17 Quotes About Chicago That Will Make You Think

“Chicago happened slowly, like a migraine. First they were driving through countryside, then, imperceptibly, the occasional town became a low suburban sprawl, and the sprawl became the city.”
Neil Gaiman

My uncle was the town drunk - and we lived in Chicago. - George Gobel — My uncle was the town drunk – and we lived in Chicago. – George Gobel

Perhaps the most typically American place in America. - James Bryce — Perhaps the most typically American place in America. – James Bryce

“Chicago has so much excellent architecture that they feel obliged to tear some of it down now and then and erect terrible buildings just to help us all appreciate the good stuff.”
Audrey Niffenegger

Chicago seems a big city instead of merely a large place. - A.J. Liebling — Chicago seems a big city instead of merely a large place. – A.J. Liebling

You’d never think of taking a cab if you had to walk a mile down Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. - Helmut Jahn — You’d never think of taking a cab if you had to walk a mile down Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. – Helmut Jahn

“Chicago is a city of contradictions, of private visions haphazardly overlaid and linked together. If the city was unhappy with itself yesterday-and invariably it was-it will reinvent itself today.”
Pat Colander

No realistic, sane person goes around Chicago without protection. - Saul Bellow — No realistic, sane person goes around Chicago without protection. – Saul Bellow

Could anything be more indicative of a slight but general insanity than the aspect of the crowd on the streets of Chicago - Charles Horton Cooley — Could anything be more indicative of a slight but general insanity than the aspect of the crowd on the streets of Chicago? – Charles Horton Cooley

“A lot of real Chicago lives in the neighborhood taverns. It is the mixed German and Irish and Polish gift to the city, a bit of the old country grafted into a strong new plant in the new.”
Bill Granger