Wilmette (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781531663476)

Wilmette is best known for its tree-lined, brick-paved streets, nice homes, and lovely lakefront. Yet a peek beneath this placid suburban surface reveals a surprisingly lively history, ranging from the early years of hardscrabble farms carved out of dense forest to decades of conflict with German-speaking tavern owners in the culturally distinctive village of Gross Point. "No Man's Land" along Sheridan Road once sported a dazzling movie palace and a Jazz Age nightclub, along with hot dog stands, beach clubs, and speakeasies that defied Wilmette's buttoned-down reputation. The huge engineering effort to reverse the flow of the Chicago River bestowed on the village a cozy harbor and a busy lakefront park, both soon dominated by the massively incongruous but serenely beautiful Baha'i Temple. Hometown to such diverse figures as Charlton Heston, Ann-Margret, Bill Murray, Pete Wentz, and Rahm Emanuel, Wilmette has long been a fine place to grow up, as well as a bustling, civic-minded community with more than its share of surprises.

Author: Kathy Hussey-Arntson, Patrick Leary
ISBN-10: 1531663478
ISBN-13: 9781531663476
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
Language: English
Published: 08/27/2012
Pages: 130
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.61h x 6.69w x 0.38d