Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States, only Los Angeles and New York have more inhabitants. It is often called the "Windy City" and in fact the tops of large skyscrapers sway out a few feet from their vertical position when gusty winds blow from Lake Michigan. In 1871 the city was destroyed by fire and new buildings were built in accordance with the architectural trends of Early modernism. Today Chicago has a large number of high-rise buildings, which have been constructed on a regular basis since the 1960s. The 108-story Willis Tower, built in 1974, is the highest of them.
