Blue Island, Illinois
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| Incorporated | City in 1901. | |||||||||||||||
| County; State | Cook; Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| Township | Worth, Calumet, Bremen, Thornton | |||||||||||||||
| Government | Council-manager | |||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Donald Peloquin
pop = 23,463 density-km = 2,247.9 |
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| Population (2000) | {{{pop}}} (up 10.66% from 1990) | |||||||||||||||
| Pop. density | {{{density-km}}}/km² (5,822.4/mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| ZIP code(s) | 60406, 60827 | |||||||||||||||
| Area code | 708 | |||||||||||||||
| Land area | 10.4 km² (4.0 mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| Income | Per capita: $16,156 Household: $36,236 |
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| Home value | Mean: $107,931 (2000) Median: $102,200 |
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| Website | www.blueisland.org | |||||||||||||||
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Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 23,463 at the 2000 census.
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.
The city is a hub for Metra trains, with six stations, five of them along the Rock Island District Line; 119th Street, 123rd Street, Prairie Street, and Vermont Street. The Metra station for Robbins, IL, is also in Blue Island at 139th Street and Coopers Grove Road. 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) is across the street from the sixth station, which serves as the terminus of a Metra Electric spur line.
Blue Island's central business district ('uptown' to the locals) through the 1970's was regarded as an important 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.
Blue Island is home since 1905 to Saint Francis Hospital and Health Center, long nationally recognized as one of the nation's premier cardiovascular primary care centers.
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 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 LaSalle Bank Theatre) in Chicago's Loop. The first buildings of Northwest Gas, Light and Coke Company in Blue Island were designed by Holabird and Roche in 1902 (demolished). The city also has 22 houses known to have been built with mail-order kits sold by Sears Modern Homes.
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[edit] Geography
Blue Island is located at (41.658412, -87.679424).[1]
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.
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2000 census[2], 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%).[3]
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Blue Island's claims to fame
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.
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).
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 short-lived television show Cupid were filmed in Blue Island, as were two episodes of the TV series Early Edition.
Current Detroit Tigers outfielder and lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson was born in Blue Island.
The pop punk band Mest was 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 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, Blue Island Sun-Standard.
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", it is a plaintive love song about a man who is missing his girl "south of Chicago". 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.[citation needed] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Profile of General Demographic Characteristics, Blue Island, IllinoisPDF (38.8 KiB). U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 2007-07-11.
[edit] External links
- Blue Island, Illinois is at coordinates Coordinates:
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