Blue Island, Illinois

"Blue Island" redirects here. For the Italian film, see Blue Island (1982 film).

Template:Chicagoland municipality Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 23,463 at the 2000 census.

Lake Chicago at the Glenwood Stage, showing the geological formation of Blue Island (middle lower right) protruding above the waters. The city of Blue Island occupies the lower quarter of the island and the surrounding plain in its vicinity. From Bulletin No. 1, The Geographic Society of Chicago, 1899

Blue Island is so named because it is situated on the south end of a glacial moraine that was once an island when Lake Chicago covered the surrounding area thousands of years ago at the end of the last ice age. Early pioneers gave the ridge the name because at a distance it looked like an island set in a trackless prairie sea. The blue color was attributed to atmospheric scattering or to blue flowers growing on the ridge. From the Chicago Democrat, February, 1834:

"Nearly south of this town and twelve miles [19 km] distant is Blue Island. This name is particularly appropriate. It is a table of land about six miles [10 km] long and an average of two miles [3 km] wide, of an oval form and rising some forty feet out of an immense plain which surrounds it on every side. The sides and slopes of this table, as well as the table itself, are covered with a handsome growth of timber, forming a belt surrounding about four or five thousand acres of beautiful table land. In summer, the plain is covered with luxurious herbage. It is uninhabited, and when we visited it, from its stillness, loneliness, and quiet, we pronounced it a vast vegetable solitude. The ridge, when viewed from a distance, appears standing in a azure mist of vapor, hence the applellation 'Blue Island'."

Blue Island bills itself as "The City on the Hill".

The city is a hub for Metra trains, with five stations, four of them along the Rock Island District Line; 119th Street, 123rd Street, Prairie Street, and Vermont Street. The Rock Island District Line splits at Gresham, north-east of Blue Island, and the branch (known alternately as the 'Beverly', 'Blue Island', or 'Suburban' branch) serves the communities of Beverly Hills, Morgan Park, and the stations in Blue Island between 119th Street and Vermont Street, where the tracks re-join the main line. The Vermont Street station, which is one of the oldest in the Metra network (having been built in 1868 [5]) is across the street from the fifth station, which serves as the terminus of a Metra Electric spur line.

The Blue Island Opera House, 1896, [1] was built by Blue Island's first mayor John L. Zacharias to replace the Robinson Block, which was destroyed by the Great Blue Island Fire of that year. The opera house was host to vaudeville and repertoire shows until 1913, when it became the Grand Theater and a venue for motion pictures. In later years it was home to the Blue Island Sun-Standard and Kline's Department Store. Although the auditorium has been remodeled out of existence, the building, with its award-winning exterior restoration, today provides both commercial and office space to the historic 'uptown' district. The building has been designated as a landmarkby the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission.

Blue Island's central business district ('uptown' to the locals) through the 1970s was regarded as an important regional commercial center, with stores such as Woolworth's, Kline's, Sears, Montgomery Ward, Spiegel and Steak 'n Shake. Today, downtown Blue Island is better known for its antique stores, art galleries, ethnic delicatessens and fine dining.

Much of this shift in business activity has been brought on by "big box" development outside of town. To this day Blue Island maintains a healthy business climate, as is evidenced by the fact that several local businesses have been serving the area for generations. Krueger Funeral Home, for example, was founded in 1858, and Jebens Hardware was established in 1876. As a nod to the 21st Century, however, the city and a dedicated group of volunteers, working with The Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago and the Center for Neighborhood Technology have devised the Blue Island Plan for Economic Development which addresses not only the commercial expansion of the historic uptown business district, but the continued improvement of the housing stock and industrial base as well.

Moraine Valley Community College operates a satellite facility uptown.

The Carnegie Library in Blue Island, IL - William A. Otis, architect (1903, demolished 1969) source Curt Teich & Co. postcard no. 60274

A lending library has been in existence in some form or another in Blue Island since about 1845, when Thomas McClintock began to make his private library of about 100 volumes available to the public for a nominal fee. The founding of the library as a publicly supported institution dates to 1890, when the Current Topics Club, predecessor to the Blue Island Woman's Club, opened a small reading room above Edward Seyfarth's hardware store on Western Avenue with a collection of 1500 books and various periodicals which were acquired with funds that were donated by the community thru public subscription. Except for what was in the hands of patrons, this library's collection was destroyed by the Great Blue Island Fire of 1896. The public library as a taxpayer supported institution was founded in 1897, and the first building built in Blue Island expressly for the purpose of housing the library's collection (by this time up to 3,200 volumes) was made possible by a matching grant of $15,000 (about $375,000 in 2008) provided by Andrew Carnegie in 1903. This building was demolished in 1969 when the current library, which opened housing the library's collection of over 70,000 volumes, was built. Today The Blue Island Public Library provides a host of services, including multi-language reading materials, computers with internet access, public meeting rooms and a wide variety of educational programs. It is a member of the Metropolitan Library System and is host to the Blue Island Historical Society's award-winning Museum Room.

Blue Island is home to MetroSouth Medical Center. Founded in 1905 as Saint Francis Hospital in the former mansion of Ernst Ulich when this section of Gregory Street was lined with churches and the homes of some of Blue Island's more prosperous citizens, the hospital has long been nationally recognized as one of the nation's premier cardiovascular primary care centers. The founders of the hospital, the Sisters of St. Mary (currently the Franciscan Sisters of Mary), relinquished ownership of the facility to MetroSouth Medical Center on July 30, 2008.

Dr. Aaron Heimbach House, Bertrand Goldberg, architect (1939)

A Shingle Style house in Blue Island's "Silk Stocking" district

Because of its long history, the built environment of Blue Island exhibits a broad range of architectural styles and periods. Although largely built in the vernacular tradition, the works of notable architects, including George Maher, Oscar Wenderoth, Robert E. Seyfarth, Perkins and Will and Bertrand Goldberg [6] are featured thruout the community. The oldest section of Blue Island's city hall, built in 1891, was designed by Edmund R. Krause, who was the architect of the Majestic Building (along with its recently restored Bank of America Theatre) in Chicago's Loop. The first buildings of Northwest Gas, Light and Coke Company in Blue Island were designed by Holabird and Roche [7] in 1902 (demolished). The city also has 22 houses known to have been built with mail-order kits sold by Sears Modern Homes. There is one building in Blue Island listed on the National Register of Historic Places[8], twenty-seven are included as part of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System, [9] and forty-one individual buildings and one district have been designated as local landmarks by the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission.

The oldest building in Blue Island was built in 1836 to serve as the courthouse and post office for Lake County, Indiana before it was taken apart in 1844 and sent by raft up the Little Calumet River and re-assembled in Blue Island as the American House Hotel. Although its Greek Revival roots are clearly discernible, the building is much remodeled and serves today as a private residence. (Greek Revival was the architectural style of choice in the early years of Blue Island's history. Many of the buildings that remain from those days have been similarly remodeled - perhaps the best 'pure' examples of the style, albeit in a vernacular form, can be seen either in the Walter P. Roche house on York Street or the Henry Schuemann house on Western Avenue.) The newest development is Fay's Point, a gated community built at the confluence of the Calumet River and the Calumet Sag Channel on the site of the historic farm of Jerome Fay.

Drawing of the American House Hotel after a sketch that appeared in Ferdinand Schapper's 1917 manuscript Southern Cook County and History of Blue Island before the Civil War. Built Liverpool IN, 1836 - re-built Blue Island, 1844. The building originally stood on the west side of Western Ave north of Vermont Street (where Three Sisters Antique Mall stands today) and was popular among Southerners who used it as a summer boarding house and with the contractors who built the feeder canal for the Illinois and Michigan Canal. After the Civil War it was used as a home for retired soldiers. Although it was built after the invention of balloon framing, the building is constructed using the timber framing method, evidence of which is still clearly visible in the basement and attic.

Geography

Blue Island is located at 41°39′30″N 87°40′46″W (41.658412, -87.679424).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.7 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.18%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census,Template:GR there were 23,463 people, 8,247 households, and 5,467 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,822.4 people per square mile (2,247.9/km²). There were 8,750 housing units at an average density of 2,171.3/sq mi (838.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.68% White, 24.10% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 17.68% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.93% of the population, including 34.0% of Mexican descent.

The top four non-Hispanic, non-African American ancentries reported in Blue Island as of the 2000 census were German (11.7%), Irish (10.4%), Polish (6.7%) and Italian (6.6%).

City Hall, 1891, Edmund R. Krause, architect. The portion of the building to the right was built in 1925 according to plans by the Chicago architectural firm of Doerr, Lindquist and Doerr. The design was apparently a conscious effort to complement the post office building across the street, which was built (albeit on a grander scale) using similar brick and a closely related architectural style.

Blue Island Post Office, 1914, Oscar Wenderoth, architect

There were 8,247 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.54.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,520, and the median income for a family was $42,277. Males had a median income of $31,599 versus $26,425 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,156. About 12.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Nearly all of Blue Island is in Illinois' 1st congressional district; the portion east of the Dan Ryan Expressway is in the 2nd district.

Blue Island's claims to fame

The railroad bridges at Blue Island over the Calumet Sag Channel

Acclaimed actor Gary Sinise was born in Blue Island.

The rock band Enuff Z'Nuff originated in the town; one of their songs on the album Strength is named "Blue Island", and a later album is titled Welcome to Blue Island. The group has appeared on MTV, Howard Stern and David Letterman. Their music has been released on Atco Records and Arista Records.

1970s funk/R&B singer-songwriter Peter Brown, best known for his 1977 hit "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky" and for writing Madonna's 1985 hit "Material Girl", was born in Blue Island.

Chicago-born glamour model and artist Traci Glon grew up in Blue Island.

Scenes from the 1987 film Light of Day, starring Michael J. Fox, were filmed in Blue Island, including the scenes at the arcade "The Video Zone" (now a Big Boy submarine sandwich shop).

Blue Island athlete Don Kolloway became a Major League Baseball player when he became an infielder for the Chicago White Sox in 1940. Except while he was in the service during WWII, Kolloway played most of the '40's with the White Sox. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1949, and to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953, where he ended his baseball career. September 15, 1946 was "Don Kolloway Day" at Comiskey Park, where he was presented with a new automobile. Topps honored him with a baseball card (#97) while he was a member of the Athletics. For many years after his retirement, Kolloway operated a tavern in Blue Island called 'Kolloway's'.

File:SSLaneVictory.jpg

On December 28, 1945, 91 days after her keel was laid, the U.S.S. Blue Island Victory was launched from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. Dubbed "the Ugly Duckling of the merchant marine" by FDR, Victory ships were armed cargo ships that were built during World War II to transport troops and supplies wherever in the world their services were required. Of the 550 or so built[2], 218 were named after American cities. The U.S.S. Blue Island Victory was a type VC 2-S-AP2, which was 455 feet (139 m) long, 62 feet (19 m) wide, and had a 25-foot (7.6 m) draft. It was equipped with a 5-inch (130 mm) gun on the stern for enemy submarines, a three inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun, and a 20 mm cannon. The U.S.S. Blue Island Victory served variously as a troop ship[3] and as a cattle transport ship[4], and saw service in the Korean War. It was scrapped in 1972. The picture shown above is the U.S.S. Lane Victory, which is a twin to the U.S.S. Blue Island Victory that today serves as a museum in Los Angeles, California. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

.

Scenes from the 2006 Paramount Pictures film Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, were filmed in Blue Island. The movie was based on the book of the same name by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the six men who became famous for raising the American flag there, and the sensation it caused after the photograph that was taken of it by Joe Rosenthal was published by the Associated Press.

Scenes from the television show Cupid were filmed in Blue Island, as were two episodes of the TV series Early Edition.

Henry Seyfarth was born and raised in Blue Island and began his legal career in an office above the First National Bank of Blue Island (now Great Lakes Bank of Choice), a business with family associations that was founded in 1896 as Zacharias, Bourke & Co. In 1945, Seyfarth left the now defunct Chicago Law firm of Pope and Ballard with Lee Shaw and Owen Fairweather to found what is now known as Seyfarth Shaw, recognized today as of the world's largest and most respected law firms, which specializes in business and employee relations. Lawyers from the firm helped draft the Taft-Hartley Act [10] in 1947. Seyfarth Shaw now has 750 attorneys operating from ten offices around the world.

The Joshua P. Young House, c.1852. Built by Carlton Wadhams, owner of the American House Hotel, the house was later owned in by Joshua Palmer Young, who, as president of the Blue Island Land and Building Co., was important in the development of the Chicago communities of Beverly Hills; Morgan Park; Washington Heights; and Englewood; Harvey, IL; Homewood, IL and South Holland, IL. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is included in the State of Illinois' Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System.

Current Detroit Tigers outfielder and lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson was born in Blue Island.

Internationally renowned financial author and editor Andrew Leckey is a graduate of Eisenhower High School [11]. He is best known in Chicagoland as having been a reporter for the local NBC news affiliate before going to New York to be a financial anchor for CNBC. He has either authored or edited ten books on finance, and for the past 20 years has written a nationally syndicated investment column for the Chicago Tribune Co..

The pop punk band Mest was formed in Blue Island. Former Mest frontman Tony Lovato grew up there. Their performance of "I Melt With You" was part of the soundtrack from the 2001 Columbia Pictures film Not Another Teen Movie. The CD for it was released by Maverick Records the same year.

Blue Island was the hometown of well-known Chicago author and sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times Taylor Bell, and of Dave Nightingale, who wrote for the Chicago Daily-News and the Chicago Tribune.

Scenes from the 2008 Universal Studios film The Express were filmed in various locations in Blue Island. The Express is the story of Ernie Davis, who was the first black football player to win the Heisman Trophy.

Hands Across America passed through Blue Island on May 25, 1986.

The actor and writer John Franklin was born in Blue Island [12]. Perhaps best known for his highly regarded work in two of the films based on Stephen King's short story Children of the Corn, Franklin has appeared in other films, including two Paramount Pictures: The Addams Family and the Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated Addams Family Values. His work on television includes appearances in the series Highway to Heaven, Chicago Hope and Star Trek: Voyager.

The motorcycle engine manufacturer, S&S Cycle, was founded in Blue Island in 1958.

The noted early 20th century architect Robert E. Seyfarth was born and raised in Blue Island

Rick Rizzs, voice of the Seattle Mariners since 1983, graduated from Eisenhower High School in Blue Island. His father, Don Rizzs, was the sports and local history reporter for the local newspaper, the Blue Island Sun-Standard.

The old Whittier School building (1856, demolished 1925), site of the founding of Chicago State University.

Chicago State University was founded in Blue Island in 1867 as the Cook County Normal (or Teacher's) School in the classrooms of the old Whittier School building on Vermont Street.

In 1935, the Pulitzer Prize winning author Margaret Ayer Barnes wrote the novel Edna, His Wife, an American Idyll. The book is the story of the life of a simple country girl who was raised in Blue Island but becomes increasingly unhappy as she becomes older and leads a more sophisticated life elsewhere. The book was later adapted into a play by Cornelia Otis Skinner.

In 1931 Blue Island resident LaJulia Elizabeth Rhea broke the color barrier by being the first black woman to sing the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida with the Chicago Civic Opera.

The 1947 Book of the Month Club September selection Gus the Great was published. The book was a run-away best seller, and its author, Thomas W. Duncan, is reputed to have earned $250,000 in royalties from it, including $100,000 from Universal Studios for the movie rights. It is the story of the life and adventures of Gus Burgoyne, a circus owner of questionable character. Several of the scenes from it took place in Blue Island.

In 1923 "Blue Island Blues", by Wendall Hall, Harry Geise and Emory O'Hara was published by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. Described by the New York Times art critic John S. Wilson as a "striking and colorful original composition" [13], it is a plaintive love song about a man who is missing his girl and "...has a ticket to Chicago..." that will be used to help him "... lose - those Yesterday's - Blue Island Blues". It was performed by Tiny Parham in 1929, and an instrumental version is currently available on the CD by George Shearing and Brian Torff entitled Lullaby of Birdland: Blues Alley Jazz/On a Clear Day which was released by Concord Records in 2000.

Noted author Michael A. Black graduated from Eisenhower High School.[14] Black writes short stories and has written a number of books on various subjects, including a critically acclaimed series of mystery novels. His book A Final Judgement won a Lovey Award (formerly the Reader's Choice Award) in 2007. His latest book, I Am Not a Cop, is being co-authored with Richard Belzer, who plays Detective John Munch on NBC's police drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The book is being published by Simon & Schuster for release in October of 2008.