The Windy City

The city of Chicago has been known by many nicknames, but it is most widely recognized as the "Windy City". 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.The earliest known reference to Chicago as the "Windy City" is from an 1858 Chicago Tribune article. 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" was popularized and came into common usage by The Sun editor, Charles Dana, in the bidding for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The popularity of the nickname has endured, long after the Cincinnati rivalry and the Columbian Exposition ended.WeatherWhile Chicago is widely known as the "Windy City", it is not the windiest city in the United States: Amarillo, Texas is. Chicago is not significantly windier than any other U.S. city. For example, the average annual wind speed of Chicago is: ; Milton is: ; Boston: ; New York City, Central Park: ; and Los Angeles:.The following "windy city" explanation is from the Freeborn County Standard of Albert Lea, Minnesota, on November 20, 1892: