Westmont, Illinois

Template:Chicagoland municipality Westmont is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,554 at the 2000 census.

History

Westmont was developed largely because of the Great Chicago Fire. Following the blaze, Chicago building codes called for all new structures to be built of brick, rather than wood. The William Gregg Brick Company, located in Westmont, the highest point west of Chicago along the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (now the BNSF), provided most of the brick used in the rebuilding of the city. During Prohibition, many speakeasies opened in Westmont and the town adopted nicknames such as "Wetmont " and "Whiskey Hill."

Famous residents

• Muddy Waters, the father of Chicago blues

Geography

Westmont is located at 41°47′40″N 87°58′35″W (41.794480, -87.976433).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²), of which, 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) of it is land and 0.20% is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 24,554 people, 9,900 households, and 5,979 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,014.4 people per square mile (1,934.8/km²). There were 10,269 housing units at an average density of 2,097.1/sq mi (809.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 78.02% White, 5.38% African American, 0.13% Native American, 11.95% Asian, 2.41% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.98% of the population.

There were 9,900 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the village the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males (so this is not a place for single women to move).

The median income for a household in the village was $51,422, and the median income for a family was $64,472. Males had a median income of $42,909 versus $33,690 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,394. About 3.8% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Westmont has a station on Metra's BNSF Railway Line, which provides daily rail service between Aurora, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois (at Union Station).

Trivia

• The beginning and last scene of Disney's Rookie of the Year was shot at the Veterans Memorial Youth Baseball Field, commonly used to host Westmont Youth Baseball Association games.

• Westmont boasts participation in one of the largest congregations of car dealers in the state, along with Naperville and Westmont, called "The Ogden Avenue Strip." Between the three cities, every mainstream make and model of car available is found on or near Ogden Avenue Route 34. Most of the dealers in Westmont itself are owned by McGrath Auto Group and Autonation (The Laurel Group sold to Autonation in 2000, and was formerly owned by Westmont resident Ray Baldi). The Ogden Avenue Strip is one of the busiest automotive retail locations in the country, and second only to 159th Street (Orland Park/Tinley Park) in Illinois. Westmont's dealerships are mostly high end luxury brands, such as Lamborghini, Audi, Acura, Lexus, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes.

• Westmont is home for the world headquarters of Ty, Inc., makers of Beanie Babies founded by toy developer H. Ty Warner. Westmont's largest park is named after Ty Warner and is located just south of Ty, Inc. HQs.

External links

Westomont Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau: [1]