In Brief - Chicago

TIME ZONE: Central
AREA CODES: 312, 773
FOUNDED: 1871
POPULATION: 2,695,598
GET AROUND: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and el; water taxi
AIRPORT: Midway International Airport
WEBSITE: www.explorechicago.com

BY THE NUMBERS

15 height (in stories) of the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier

1,450 height (in feet) of Willis Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere

300,000+ works in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection (of which only 4% is on view)

2.2 MILLION exhibition space (in square feet) in McCormick Place, Chicago's premier con vention center

CULTURE CALENDAR

Through Aug. 21
GREASE
There's no better place to hang with the Greasers and Pink Ladies from Rydell High than the city where the play was first performed. The American Theater Company based this revival (with a few new twists) on early rehearsal and production drafts of the 1971 show. www.atcweb.org

Sept. 1-4
CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL
The longest running of the city’s lakefront festivals, this massive, free event features world-renowned singer Cassandra Wilson on Saturday and Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Roy Hargrove closing things out Sunday evening. www.chicagojazzfestival.us

NEWS FLASH

A World for Words • The Poetry Foundation headquarters, which opened in June, is Chicago’s first building dedicated to poetry and the first perma nent home for the 100-year-old Poetry magazine. It includes a nearly 4,000-square foot public garden. www.poetryfoundation.org + Building Bloom • Speaking of gardens, a vegetableand herb filled one is growing on the rooftop of the Palmer House Hilton. The on-site eateries will use the bounty, and there are plans for a beehive. www.palmerhousehiltonhotel.com