Lake Forest

Lake Forest
City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Lake
Township	Moraine, Shields, Vernon, West Deerfield
Coordinates	42°14′5″N 87°51′3″W / 42.23472°N 87.85083°W / 42.23472; -87.85083
Area	4.6 sq mi (12 km2)
Population	21,300 (2008)
Density	459.1 /km2 (1,189 /sq mi)
Founded	1861
Mayor	James J. Cowhey, Jr.
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60045
Area code	847, 224
Location of Lake Forest within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Lake Forest, Illinois
Website: www.cityoflakeforest.com

Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and is one of the most affluent communities in the United States, and ranked within the top three communities of the Central United States along with Winnetka, Illinois. The population reached 21,300 according to data collected by CNN Money in 2008. The city is south of Waukegan, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the affluent North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around its college and laid out as a town in 1857 as a stop for travelers making their way south to Chicago. The Lake Forest City Hall, designed by Frost and Granger, Architects, was completed in 1898 and housed the fired department, Lake Forest Library, and city offices.⁵

The headquarters of Tenneco, Brunswick, and Hospira (all Fortune 500 companies) are in Lake Forest; W.W. Grainger, Inc. and BFG Technologies are located in unincorporated Lake County, near Lake Forest. The Chicago Bears training facility and headquarters, Halas Hall, opened in 1997 in west Lake Forest, and the Chicago Fire now train at the Bears' previous facility located on the campus of Lake Forest College. Robert Redford filmed Ordinary People, the story of a Lake Forest family, on location in 1980, and the movie went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Silver medal Olympian Matt Grevers, Actor Vince Vaughn, author Dave Eggers, and musician Andrew Bird graduated from Lake Forest High School.

Educational institutions

Most Lake Forest residents attend Lake Forest School District 67 and Lake Forest High School. Lake Forest High School serves Lake Forest as well as neighboring Lake Bluff and Knollwood.

The Montessori School of Lake Forest and Forest Bluff School (in Lake Bluff) both serve ages two through 14, and are both accredited by AMI (Association Montessori Internationale); the latter is nationally known from the writings of founder and former head Paula Polk Lillard, and is often cited as one of the leading Montessori schools in America.

Lake Forest Academy, a boarding and day school on the west side of Lake Forest, is considered to be one of the best college preparatory and boarding schools in the Midwest, and attracts students from across the country and around the world. Lake Forest Country Day School was recently lauded by Chicago Magazine for its use of technology in the classroom. The School of St. Mary are the two private, Catholic schools located in Lake Forest: East Lake Academy is a newer elementary school started in 2001, and the School of St. Mary was established in 1917 and is a Catholic institution in Lake Forest.

Elementary Schools

• Deer Path Middle School - public
• Cherokee Elementary School - public
• Everett Elementary School - public
• Sheridan Elementary School - public
• Rondout Elementary School - public
• School of St. Mary - private
• Lake Forest Country Day School - private
• Montessori School of Lake Forest - private; Montessori
• [Forest Bluff School] - private; Montessori (in neighboring Lake Bluff; majority of students live in Lake Forest)

High schools

• Lake Forest High School - public
• Lake Forest Academy - private
• Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart - private

Colleges

• Barat College--Closed after 100 years in Lake Forest June 30th, 2005
• Lake Forest College
• Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Geography and development

Lake Forest is located in the North Shore area, at 42°14′5″N 87°51′3″W / 42.23472°N 87.85083°W / 42.23472; -87.85083 (42.234788, -87.851042).^[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.9 square miles (43.8 km²), of which, 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.30%) is water.

As Lake Forest was first developed, the planners laid roads that would provide very limited access to the city in an effort to prevent outside traffic and further isolate the tranquil settlement from neighboring areas. Though considerably more accessible today, due in part to the extensive new construction taking place further West, the much smaller neighborhood of eastern Lake Forest, near the coast of Lake Michigan, remains relatively secluded and is among the most scenic, historical, and architecturally significant suburbs of Chicago. These neighborhoods include estates and homes designed by distinguished architects like Howard Van Doren Shaw, David Adler, Arthur Heun, Henry Ives Cobb, Robert E. Seyfarth, and modernist George Fred Keck among others. Landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Jens Jensen also designed projects in Lake Forest. Market Square, designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw, was completed in 1916 as a commercial center for Lake Forest.

In 1967 a group of 12 long-time residents of Lake Forest formed a land conservation organization, Lake Forest Open Lands Association.^[2] Its express purpose was to purchase or otherwise set aside the rapidly disappearing open spaces in the city, in the interests of preserving animal habitat, restoring ecosystems, and providing environmental education for the city's children. In the next 38 years, the group managed to acquire over 700 acres (2.8 km²) within the city limits, which now form six nature preserves with 12 miles (19 km) of walking trails open to the public. Preserved in perpetuity are wetlands, original pre-1830 prairie, woodland and savanna, all within the city.

Lake Forest has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation in recognition of its commitment to community forest. As of 2006, Lake Forest has received this national honor for twenty-six years.

Commercial development

Market Square

Former Marshall Fields'at Market Square; officially closed as of January 2008

Entrance to department store on Market Square, documenting name change; officially closed as of January 2008

Commercial development in Lake Forest is focused in three areas, two of which have public railway stations. The central business district includes a Metra commuter railroad station on the Union Pacific/North Line and extends beyond Market Square, providing a mixture of retail, banking, and professional services, as well as restaurants. Market Square is composed of a wide variety of shops and restaurants, including Talbots, Williams-Sonoma, J. Crew, and Einstein Bros. Bagels. The business district to the west includes a Metra commuter railroad station on the Milwaukee District/North Line and extends beyond Settlers' Square to provide a mixture of retail, banking and professional services, as well as restaurants. A third area of business development, consisting mostly of corporate and office space, extends along the city's northwestern border with the Tri-State Tollway.

Lake Forest is notorious for its strong stance against commercial development. High property taxes have driven out many businesses, especially car dealerships, to neighboring Lake Bluff. Most notably, Lake Forest Sportscars, one of the only Ferrari dealerships in Illinois, moved from downtown to its current location on Waukegan Road in Lake Bluff, just across the street from Lake Forest. The McDonald's, located right off of the Metra station in West Lake Forest, was approved only after significant appearance changes, giving it a "barn-like" appearance. There were plans for a Costco to be built on Illinois Route 60, near the Tri-State Tollway in 2005. However, these plans were canceled due to opposition from the city government, local citizens, and the Chicago Bears.

Transportation

Lake Forest has Interstate Highway access through the Tri-State Tollway (I-94). In addition, the Skokie Highway (U.S. Highway 41) runs through Lake Forest, roughly bisecting the city. Lake Forest is connected with suburbs west of it through Illinois Route 60. Additionally, Lake Forest has two Metra commuter railroad stations, both of which share the same name. The Union Pacific/North Line has a station in East Lake Forest, while the Milwaukee District/North Line has a station in West Lake Forest.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 20,059 people, 6,687 households, and 5,329 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,189.4 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 7,001 housing units at an average density of 415.1/sq mi (160.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.80% White, 1.35% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.45% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 6,687 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $150,670, and the median income for a family was $200,000+.^[4] Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $44,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $77,092. About .15% of families and .2% of the population were below the poverty line.

Polo

Lake Forest is famous in Chicago for its history of polo, being once the farthest-west establishment of the sport in the US. It was home to the "East-West clash of 1933" in which a team of "Westerners", today Midwesterners, challenged the best of the Eastern US polo teams, winning two of three matches. Box seats sold for $5.50 and the general public was admitted for $1.10. The Chicago press covered the match extensively, right down to the arrival of every horse and player, the color of the horseflesh and the color of the goalposts. The match was described as a "gleaming moment in American polo, if not the very zenith of the game in this country." Today, Lake Forest continues the tradition, and polo is played yearly throughout August. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan's polo ponies are said to have been bred in Lake Forest. Furthermore, the character of Daisy Buchanan was based on Fitzgerald's ex-girlfriend Lake Forest resident Ginevra King, whose family famously brought polo ponies to Lake Forest.

People associated with Lake Forest

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

Arts, Literature, Humanities and Entertainment

• David Adler, architect
• James T. Aubrey, Jr., television and film executive
• Edward H. Bennett, architect and city planner
• Bix Beiderbecke jazz cornet player and pianist
• McKey Sullivan, fashion model and winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
• Andrew Bird, musician/songwriter
• Tom & Daisy Buchanan (fictional)
• Mat Devine, lead singer of Chicago based alternative rock band Kill Hannah
• Dave Eggers, writer
• F. Scott Fitzgerald, author
• Jean Harlow, actress
• John Mahoney, actor
• Mr. T, actor/professional wrestler
• Sam Weller, author and journalist
• Robin Williams, actor and comedian
• Vince Vaughn, actor
• Jay Chandrasekhar, actor, director
• John Hughes, writer, director, producer
• Chris Farley, actor, comedian
• Richard Widmark, actor
• Lisel Mueller, poet; winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
• Lauren Holly, actress
• Kipleigh Brown, actress
• Charlie Finn, actor
• Bill Schulz, journalist, FOX NEWS
• Howard Van Doren Shaw, architect
• The Ragdale Foundation, an artists' community and residence

Politics

• Fredrik Herman Gade, mayor of Lake Forest and later diplomat for Norway
• Susan Garrett, State Senator for the 29th District, 2003-
• William Proxmire, United States Senator
• Judy Baar Topinka, Illinois State Treasurer
• Pete Wilson, former Governor of California
• Corrine Wood, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

Sport

Note many athletes lived in Lake Forest as professionals, and did not necessarily grow up in the town.

• Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears quarterback
• Scott Sanderson, retired Major League Baseball pitcher; Major League Baseball Agent
• Joe Girardi, retired Chicago Cubs catcher; Manager of the New York Yankees
• Cade McNown, Chicago Bears quarterback
• Mickey Cochrane, Major League Baseball catcher
• Bobby Douglas, Chicago Bears quarterback
• Keith Magnuson, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, team captain
• Carl Haas, Auto Racing impresario
• George Halas, longtime head coach of Chicago Bears
• Edith Cummings, professional female golfer and 1924 U.S. Women's Amateur Champion
• Matt Grevers, 2008 Olympic swimmer
• Chip Beck, professional golfer
• Steve Kerr, retried Chicago Bulls point guard
• Jim Covert, retired Chicago Bears offensive lineman
• Tim Weigel, sports anchor, reporter
• Scottie Pippen, retired Chicago Bulls forward
• Steve Stanicek, MLB player for the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies

Business

• Marshall Field, businessman/ex-owner of Marshall Field's (now part of Macy's)
• Miles D. White, businessman, CEO of Abbott Laboratories
• W. James Farrell, businessman, former Chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works
• Charles "Cork" R. Walgreen III, third president of Walgreens
• J. Ogden Armour, American meatpacking magnate
• Andrew Watson Armour III, American meatpacking magnate
• Cyrus H. McCormick, American inventor, founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company (International Harvester)
• Albert Blake Dick, American businessman, founder of A. B. Dick Company; licensed autographic printing patents from Thomas Edison and coined the word "mimeograph" in 1884; Mayor of Lake Forest (1928-1931)

Other

• Edith Rockefeller McCormick, socialite
• Margaret "Peg" Carry, socialite; daughter of Edward F. Carry, president of the Pullman Company; friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Karl Patterson Schmidt, herpetologist
• Jim Lovell, astronaut on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13; author of Lost Moon; owner of Lovell's of Lake Forest
• Catherine Warren, Miss Illinois USA 2006
• Frank Lloyd Wright, architect; the Charles Glore Residence
• Ginevra King, American socialite, inspiration for many female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, notably Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby
• Sylvester Lind, founder of Lake Forest; key figure in the Underground Railroad

Works associated with Lake Forest

• Lay of the land (novel by Richard Ford: Frank Bascombe's in-laws are from Lake Forest)
• Ordinary People (novel)
• Ordinary People (film)
• Four Friends (film)
• The Fury (film)
• Uncle Buck (film)
• Miracle on 34th St. (1994) (film)
• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
• The Great Gatsby (novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
• Official Preppy Handbook
• Ocean's Twelve (film)
• A Wedding (film), directed by Robert Altman
• The Package (film)
• Gatsby's Girl (novel)
• Pet Sematary (novel by Stephen King)
• The Placebo Effect (film)
• The Kitchen Boy
• The Razor's Edge
• Class (film)
• The Perfect Hour (literary biography)
• Damien: Omen II (film)
• It (novel by Stephen King), Lake Forest is mentioned early in the book
• This Old House (TV show)
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (film), Lake Forest is where Jimmy Murtaugh's children go to a private school
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (film), parts of movie filmed in uptown Lake Forest
• The Death of the Detective (novel)
• Girls Just Want to Have Fun (film), Sarah Jessica Parker's snobby rival Natalie is from Lake Forest
• The Unborn (film)
• Public Enemies (film), parts of movie filmed in Barat College

References

5. A Preservation Foundation Guide to National Register Properties, Lake Forest, Illinois. Second ed. Lake Forest, IL: The Lake Forest Foundation for Historic Preservation, 1994, p. 31.

External links

• City of Lake Forest
• Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society web site
• Lake Forest Library
• African-American History in Lake Forest
• Lake Forest Open Lands
• Lake Forest Community Portal
• Lake Forest High School
• School District 67
• Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce
• Deerpath Golf Course

• Lake Forest, Illinois is at coordinates 42°14′05″N 87°51′04″W / 42.234788°N 87.851042°W / 42.234788; -87.851042 (Lake Forest, Illinois)Coordinates: 42°14′05″N 87°51′04″W / 42.234788°N 87.851042°W / 42.234788; -87.851042 (Lake Forest, Illinois)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Lake County, Illinois County seat: Waukegan Cities Highland Park | Highwood | Lake Forest | North Chicago | Park City | Waukegan | Zion Villages Antioch | Arlington Heights‡ | Bannockburn | Barrington‡ | Barrington Hills‡ | Beach Park | Buffalo Grove‡ | Deerfield‡ | Deer Park‡ | Fox Lake‡ | Fox River Grove‡ | Grayslake | Green Oaks | Gurnee | Hainesville | Hawthorn Woods | Indian Creek | Island Lake‡ | Kildeer | Lake Barrington | Lake Bluff | Lake Villa | Lake Zurich | Lakemoor‡ | Libertyville | Lincolnshire | Lindenhurst | Long Grove | Mettawa | Mundelein | North Barrington | Old Mill Creek | Port Barrington‡ | Riverwoods | Round Lake | Round Lake Beach | Round Lake Heights | Round Lake Park | Third Lake | Tower Lakes | Vernon Hills | Volo | Wadsworth | Wauconda | Wheeling‡ | Winthrop Harbor Townships Antioch | Avon | Benton | Cuba | Ela | Fremont | Grant | Lake Villa | Libertyville | Moraine | Newport | Shields | Vernon | Warren | Wauconda | Waukegan | West Deerfield | Zion Unincorporated communities Channel Lake | Forest Lake | Fox Lake Hills | Gages Lake | Grandwood Park | Ingleside | Ivanhoe | Knollwood | Lake Catherine | Long Lake | Prairie View | Russell | Venetian Village | Wildwood Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v • d • e   State of Illinois Springfield (capital) Topics History · Economy · Geography · Government · People · Portal · Visitor Attractions · Windmills Regions American Bottom · Central Illinois · Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area · Chicago metropolitan area · Driftless Area · Forgottonia · Fox Valley · Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area · Little Egypt · Metro‑East (St. Louis) · Mississippi Alluvial Plain · North Shore · Northern Illinois · Northwestern Illinois · Peoria metropolitan area · Quad Cities · River Bend · Rockford metropolitan area · Wabash Valley Major cities Aurora · Belleville · Bloomington/Normal · Carbondale · Champaign/Urbana · Chicago · Danville · Decatur · DeKalb · East St. Louis · Elgin · Evanston · Freeport · Galesburg · Joliet · Kankakee · Moline/Rock Island · Naperville · Peoria · Quincy · Rockford · Springfield · Waukegan Counties Adams · Alexander · Bond · Boone · Brown · Bureau · Calhoun · Carroll · Cass · Champaign · Christian · Clark · Clay · Clinton · Coles · Cook · Crawford · Cumberland · DeKalb · DeWitt · Douglas · DuPage · Edgar · Edwards · Effingham · Fayette · Ford · Franklin · Fulton · Gallatin · Greene · Grundy · Hamilton · Hancock · Hardin · Henderson · Henry · Iroquois · Jackson · Jasper · Jefferson · Jersey · Jo Daviess · Johnson · Kane · Kankakee · Kendall · Knox · LaSalle · Lake · Lawrence · Lee · Livingston · Logan · Macon · Macoupin · Madison · Marion · Marshall · Mason · Massac · McDonough · McHenry · McLean · Menard · Mercer · Monroe · Montgomery · Morgan · Moultrie · Ogle · Peoria · Perry · Piatt · Pike · Pope · Pulaski · Putnam · Randolph · Richland · Rock Island · Saline · Sangamon · Schuyler · Scott · Shelby · St. Clair · Stark · Stephenson · Tazewell · Union · Vermilion · Wabash · Warren · Washington · Wayne · White · Whiteside · Will · Williamson · Winnebago · Woodford