Highland Park, Illinois

Highland Park is a city in the Moraine Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 31,365 at the 2000 census. Highland Park is one of several affluent towns on the North Shore of Chicago. Highland Park's original name was Port Clinton, Illinois

Overview

Highland Park has several attractions including a downtown shopping district and Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a nightly music program covering classical, blues, jazz, and rock.

The Ravinia Festival is located in the Ravinia District, an area in the southern part of Highland Park that was incorporated as the Village of Ravinia before being annexed to Highland Park in 1899. The Ravinia District was originally an artists' colony, and still retains much of its early character and architecture.

Highland Park has several landmark structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places, notably the Willits House by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Highland Park has been filmed in, or been a setting of, several movies including Ordinary People, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Risky Business, Weird Science, Lucas, Kicking and Screaming, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone, and Shattered Glass. It also was the setting for the 2000/2001 Fox and PBS documentary show American High.

Highland Park is also the international headquarters of the Solo Cup Company.

The Mayor of Highland Park is Michael D. Belsky. Highland Park is located at 42°10′57″N 87°48′25″W (42.182525, -87.807052).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32.0 km²), of which, 12.3 square miles (31.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) is water. Its geographic features include a 100 foot (30 meters) high bluff running along 6 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and deep, wooded ravines extending up to one mile (1.6 kilometers) inland. Elevations range from 580 feet (177 meters) to 725 feet (218 meters).

Transportation

Highland Park Metra station

The main highway in Highland Park is US-41, which connects Chicago to Milwaukee. Commuter rail is available at five Metra stations (Braeside, Ravinia Park, Ravinia, Highland Park, and Fort Sheridan) on the Union Pacific North Line, which begins in Chicago and terminates in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Pace also offers several bus routes. Boat launch facilities are available along Lake Michigan, and O'Hare International Airport is located approximately 20 miles southwest.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 31,365 people, 11,521 households, and 8,917 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,537.5 people per square mile (979.8/km²). There were 11,934 housing units at an average density of 965.5/sq mi (372.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.20% White, 1.78% African American, 0.08% Native American, 2.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.46% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.90% of the population.

There were 11,521 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $100,967, and the median income for a family was $117,235. Males had a median income of $83,121 versus $41,175 for females. The per capita income for the city was $55,331. About 2.3% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

Highland Park is where Elisha Gray invented and first demonstrated the telephone in 1874; his Hazel Avenue house still stands.

The town is popular with professional athletes, as the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears practice facilities are nearby in Deerfield and Lake Forest, respectively. The most famous current resident is undoubtedly Michael Jordan, whose 25,000-square-foot home is on several acres behind large iron gates bearing the number 23. His neighbors include ex-teammate Toni Kukoč and former Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause. Chicago Bears starting quarterback Kyle Orton also lives in Highland Park.

Other notable persons associated with Highland Park include:

Actors

• Alex Borstein
• Jeff Perry
• Robert Reed
• Gary Sinise
• Josh Server
• Harold Ramis, actor and director
• Brandon Ratcliff, child actor
• Orson Welles
• Kevin Alexander Clark

Astronaut

• Dr. John Grunsfeld

Broadcast/Journalists

• Stephen Glass
• Brian Ross

Education

• Dr. John Preskill, Professor at the California Institute of Technology
• Dr. Graham Spanier, President of Penn State University
• Dr. Jeremy Siegel, Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Engineers

• Dr. John Gibson, Head Engineer of Illinois Tool Works

Film critic

• Gene Siskel

Film directors

• F. Gary Gray
• Brian Levant

Military

• Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr.
• General Mark Wayne Clark
• Admiral Stansfield Turner, Director of the CIA
• General Jonathan M. Wainwright

Music

• Blag Dahlia, singer in The Dwarves
• Billy Corgan, guitarist and lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins
• Dean Zelinsky, founder of Dean Guitars
• Dot and Zach Duenow, husband-wife duo of the band Duenow

Sports

• Michael Jordan, professional and Olympic Games basketball superstar; widely considered to be the best basketball player on earth [1]
• Scottie Pippen, former professional Chicago Bulls basketball player
• Jerry Krause, former general manager of the Chicago Bulls
• Toni Kukoč, former professional basketball player
• Scott Skiles, former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns
• Jerry Wainwright, head basketball coach of DePaul University

Writers

• Jacqueline Carey, fantasy fiction novelist
• Jennie Fields, author of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Lily Beach, and The Middle Ages
• William Goldman, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, author of The Princess Bride
• Peter Orner, author of Ester Stories and The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo
• David Seltzer, screenwriter, producer, and director

Sister cities

Highland Park has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Ferrara (Emilia-Romagna, Italy)
• Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco, Mexico)

Highland Park will be a sister city with Kiryat Gat, Israel

Churches

• Bethany United Methodist Church

See also

• Highland Park High School
• Highland Park Public Library

External links

• City website
• Information gateway
• The Art Center of Highland Park

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