Park Ridge, Illinois

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The city of Park Ridge is a middle-class suburb of Chicago in Cook County in the United States. Its population was 37,775 people as of the 2000 census. It is located about 27 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of downtown Chicago.

Park Ridge is said to be located on the highest ridge in all of Cook County, while this is not true, it does lie on a ridge. Hence the name "Park Ridge". The soil is abundant with clay deposits, which made it a brick-making center for the developing city of Chicago. Park Ridge was originally called Pennyville to honor George Penny, the businessman who owned the local brickyard along with Robert Meacham. Later it was named Brickton. The Des Plaines River divides Park Ridge from neighboring Des Plaines, Illinois, which is west of Park Ridge. Chicago is both south and east of Park Ridge, and Niles is to its north.^{[citation needed]}

Park Ridge is the hometown of former First Lady & current U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. When she visited Park Ridge on the occasion of her 50th birthday in 1997, the city renamed the southeast corner of the intersection of Elm and Wisner Streets, next to her girlhood home, "Rodham Corner."

The city is also home to the headquarters of the Big Ten Conference.

Contents 1 Landmarks 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Education 5 Famous residents 6 External links

[edit] Landmarks

Park Ridge's most recognizable feature is the Pickwick Theater, an art deco building dating back to 1928. The theater still shows movies, as well as plays to this date. In 1975, the theater was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Although smaller theaters have been added to the rear of the building, the main auditorium theater remains intact in its original large five-aisle state. The main auditorium can seat up to 1,250 people. In the 1980s, The Pickwick's facade was one of many used as the backdrop for the opening credits of Siskel and Ebert's "At the Movies."

[edit] Geography

Park Ridge is located at 42°0′43″N, 87°50′30″W (42.011830, -87.841587)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.3 km² (7.1 mi²). 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.57%) is water.

Trees are everywhere in Park Ridge as on any street you can find trees abounding on both sides of the street.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,074.7/km² (5,374.6/mi²). There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 804.4/km² (2,083.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.38% White, 0.24% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.66% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.87% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.95% of the population.

There were 14,219 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13. The median cost of a house is $398,000.

The City's population consists of 24.5% persons under the age of 18, 5.5% aged 18 to 24, 24.5% aged 25 to 44, 25.8% aged 45 to 64, and 19.6% age 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $73,302, and the median income for a family was $89,066. Males had a median income of $61,959 versus $39,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,646. About 1.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Park Ridge is served by elementary and middle school District 64; high school District 207 including Maine South High School, and Maine East High School. Students who live in northern Park Ridge have the option of attending either Maine East or Maine South. Maine South serves Park Ridge while Maine East mostly serves Des Plaines and Niles. Area middle schools include Emerson Middle School, home of the eagles, and Lincoln Middle School, home of the lions.

Maine Township High School District 207 shares student run radio and television stations operating with the call letters WMTH-FM. (W Maine Township High) Actor Harrison Ford has been credited as being the radio station's first sports announcer.

[edit] Famous residents

• Hillary Clinton - Former First Lady, Senator from New York, running for 2008 U.S. president.
• Grant Wood - Painter, most famous for painting American Gothic
• Vincent A. Mahler - Prominent Political Science Professor
• Melissa Elias - Former Bassist for The Ponys
• Gary Cole - Actor
• Karen Black - Actress
• Steve Wilkos - Director of Security and co-host for the Jerry Springer Show
• Ron Santo - Professional baseball player
• Ted Ansani - Former Bassist for the rockin' band,Material Issue
• Harrison Ford- Actor
• Danny Corkill - Child actor
• Adam Jones - Guitarist for the rock band Tool
• Mike North - Radio Personality
• Ray Ozzie - Prominent software engineer, now Chief Software Architect at Microsoft
• Dave Butz - NFL player for the Washington Redskins
• Carrie Snodgress - Actress
• Janet Shamlian - national correspondent NBC News
• Greg Glienna - Movie Writer, "Meet the Parents"
• Jim Hendry - Chicago Cubs General Manager
• Dana Olsen - Screenwriter, "George of the Jungle", "The 'Burbs" and "Inspector Gadget".
• James Pankow - Founding member of the rock band Chicago
• John Pankow - Film and stage actor
• Matt Hader - screenwriter, The American Screenwriters Association Board Member
• The Amazing Race [Family Edition] featured 4 Park Ridge residents, Walter, Elizabeth, Lauren, and Lindsay Bransen.

[edit] External links

• Park Ridge city website
• Park Ridge Community Network, from Park Ridge Public Library
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 42.01183° -87.841587°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
• A history of Park Ridge, Illinois

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