Windy City, Origin of Name (Chicago)

The city of Chicago has been known by many nicknames, but it is most widely recognized as the "Windy City".

The earliest known reference to the "Windy City" was actually to Green Bay in 1856. The first known repeated effort to label Chicago with this nickname is from 1876 and involves Chicago's rivalry with Cincinnati. The term "Windy City" came into common usage when it was popularized by New York City editor, Charles Dana, in The Sun during the bidding for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Chicago won the Exposition, which did not please Dana. The popularity of the nickname has endured, long after the Cincinnati rivalry and the Columbian Exposition ended.

There are four main possibilities to explain the city's nickname: the weather, as Chicago is near Lake Michigan; the World's Fair; politics; and the rivalry with Cincinnati.

While Chicago is widely known as the "Windy City", it is not the windiest city in the United States. Some of the windier cities recorded by the NOAA/NCDC are Mount Washington, NH at 35.1 mph (56.5 km/h),Blue Hill, MA at 15.2 mph (24.5 km/h),Dodge City, KS at 13.9 mph (22.3 km/h),Amarillo, Texas at 13.5 mph (21.7 km/h), and Lubbock, Texas at 12.4 mph (20 km/h). Chicago is not significantly windier than any other U.S. city. For example, the average annual wind speed of Chicago is 10.3 mph (16.6 km/h); Boston: 12.4 mph (20.0 km/h); Central Park, New York City: 9.3 mph (15.0 km/h); and Los Angeles: 7.5 mph (12.1 km/h).

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