Calumet City, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
||||||||||||||||
| Incorporated | City in 1896. | |||||||||||||||
| County, State | Cook County, Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| Township | Thornton Township | |||||||||||||||
| Government | Council-Mayor | |||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Michelle M. Qualkinbush | |||||||||||||||
| Population (2000) | 39,071 (up 3.25% from 1990) | |||||||||||||||
| Pop. density | 2,077.9/km² (5,378.0/mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| Zip code(s) | 60409 | |||||||||||||||
| Area code | 708 | |||||||||||||||
| Land Area | 18.8 km² (7.3 mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| Lat. / long. | ||||||||||||||||
| Income | Per capita: $18,123 Household: $38,902 |
|||||||||||||||
| Home value | Mean: $98,652 (2000) Median: $89,300 |
|||||||||||||||
| Website | www.calumetcity.org | |||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Calumet City is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 39,072 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 60409.
Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was once known as West Hammond, since it lies west of the Illinois-Indiana border from Hammond, Indiana.
In addition to being bordered to the east by Hammond, it is also bordered by Burnham to the north, Lansing to the south, and South Holland to the west.
Contents |
[edit] The Smiley Towers
A notable landmark and point of pride among Cal City residents is their two large water towers painted like the popular "Have a Nice Day" smiley faces: The Smiley Towers (external link) The following history of the Smiley Towers was found in the 1995 Calumet City Community Guide:
- "The Story Behind the Smile"
- Some huge smiles have been shedding a positive light on Calumet City since 1973.
- The lemon-yellow Smiley Face water towers — one at River Oaks Center and the other at Paxton Avenue and Dolton Ave — were an idea suggested by Kim Fornero. Then a child, she could see one of the towers from her home and thought it would “look cute with a smiley face on it,” recalled Dennis Bonic, director of the Calumet City Water Department.
- The 1970s were the era of the smiley face. These happy faces appeared on everything from buttons to lunch boxes.
- Fornero appealed to then Mayor Robert Stefaniak and he and the city council agreed to have the towers painted. The move made national headlines.
- “There was a big to-do about it when they went up on 1973,” Bonic said. “It went national. It was on network TV before I even came to the Water Department.”
- It was one of the first times anybody thought to use a water tower as a municipal billboard, he said. Other cities soon followed Calumet City’s example and began putting symbols, slogans and insignias on their water towers.
- The Smiley Face towers were heralded as a “progressive community project and a daily reminder to smile,” Bonic said.
- The River Oaks tower, known as "Mr. Smiley Face”, sports a bow tie on its “neck”. The other tie-less tower is affectionately known as either “Mrs." or "Miss” Smiley Face”.
- "I think everyone likes to see a smiley face and think about the city in a positive light,” he said "It's just a reminder to look on the bright side of things."
[edit] Geography
Calumet City is located at (41.614188, -87.546389)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²). 18.8 km² (7.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.63%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 39,071 people, 15,139 households, and 10,006 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,077.9/km² (5,378.0/mi²). There were 15,947 housing units at an average density of 848.1/km² (2,195.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.74% White, 52.91% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.37% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.86% of the population.
There were 15,139 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 22.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,902, and the median income for a family was $45,998. Males had a median income of $37,231 versus $30,555 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,123. About 9.8% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Popular references
Calumet City is featured or mentioned in a number of major movies. John Belushi's "Joliet Jake" character from The Blues Brothers was born in Calumet City. In the film Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill is thought to be hiding in Calumet City, when he is actually in Belvedere, Ohio. Lily Tomlin's prim but assertive housewife/spokesperson "Mrs. Judith Beasley" is said to be a resident of Calumet City, Illinois. ("Hi. I am not an actress, but real person like yourself.")
Calumet City is also referenced by a number of popular music acts. Kanye West references Calumet City is his 2005 song Drive Slow, and The Black Crowes included video of the Smiley Towers in their 1990 video for "Hard to Handle". A photograph of the "Dolton" smiley water tower is featured on the back of the Dead Kennedy's album "Plastic Surgery Disasters".
[edit] Education
Calumet City is served by several elementary school districts [1].
- Calumet City School District 155 [2]
- Woodrow Wilson Memorial School
- Wentworth Intermediate School
- Wentworth Jr. High School
- Dolton School District 149 [3]
- Carol Mosely Braun School
- Caroline Sibley School
- Dirksen Middle School
- Lincoln Elementary School District 156 [4]
- Lincoln Elementary School
- Hoover-Schrum Memorial School District No. 157 [5]
- Hoover Elementary School
- Schrum Memorial Middle School
The city is served by two high school districts:
- Thornton Township High School District 205 (west of Torrence Avenue) [6]
- Thornwood High School
- Thornton Fractional High School District 215 (east of Torrence Avenue) [7]
- Thornton Fractional North High School
[edit] External links
- City of Calumet City homepage
- Maps and aerial photos
- 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
