Chicago is the third largest city of the US, and the largest in the Midwest. Founded in 1833 on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city grew large as a major transportation hub after 1848, when canal construction connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, and the agricultural goods of the area were transferred to ships in Chicago. After a great fire in 1871, the city began a period of spectacular growth, and it population increased 500% to 1.7 million by 1900.  It also began to compete with New York City in the construction of skyscrapers. In the 1920s, the city earned a bad reputation as a place of gangster warfare (Al Capone was based in Chicago too). After World War II, the political life of the city was dominated by Democrat Mayor Richard J. Daley, one of the most powerful local politicians in the US, who was mayor for 21 years (1955-1976). Currently, the office is held by his son, Richard M. Daley, since 1989.