Naperville, Illinois
| City of Naperville | |
| City | |
 Entrance of City Hall, 400 South Eagle Street, Naperville, Illinois, USA.
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | DuPage |
| Elevation | 751 ft (229 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 35.5 sq mi (92 km²) |
| - land | 35.4 sq mi (92 km²) |
| - water | 0.1 sq mi (0 km²), 0.28% |
| Population | 145,235 (2008) |
| Density | 4,025.38 / sq mi (1,554 / km²) |
| Founded | 1831 [1] |
| - Village | 1857 [1] |
| - City | 1890 [1] |
| Mayor | A. George Pradel |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 630/331 |
 Location of Naperville within Illinois
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 Location of Illinois in the United States
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| Website: www.naperville.il.us | |
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006.[2] As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,358; The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2008 at 145,235.[3] It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago, neighboring Aurora, Rockford, and Joliet. Approximately 100,000 Napervillians live in DuPage County, while about 45,000 reside in Will County. Once a quaint farming town, Naperville has evolved into a wealthy city with numerous corporate headquarters located in the city.
Contents |
History
In July 1831, Joseph Naper arrived at the banks of the DuPage River with his family and friends to found what would be known as Naper's Settlement. Among those original settlers were Naper's wife Almeda Landon, his brother John with wife Betsy Goff, his sister Amy with husband John Murray, and his mother Sarah. Their arrival followed a nearly two-month voyage across three Great Lakes in the Naper brothers' schooner, the Telegraph. Also on that journey were several families who remained in the still raw settlement that would become Chicago, including that of Dexter Graves who is memorialized in Graceland Cemetery by a well-known Loredo Taft statue.[4]
By 1832, over one hundred settlers had arrived at Naper's Settlement. These settlers were temporarily displaced to Fort Dearborn for protection from an anticipated attack by the Sauk tribe. Fort Payne was built at Naper's Settlement, the settlers returned and the attack never materialized. The Pre-Emption House was constructed in 1834, as the Settlement became a stage-coach stop on the road from Chicago to Galena. Reconstructions of Fort Payne and the Pre-Emption House stand as part of Naper Settlement, which was first established by the Naperville Heritage Society and the Naperville Park District in 1969 to preserve some of the community's oldest buildings.[4]
After DuPage County was split from Cook County in 1839, Naper's Settlement became the DuPage county seat, a distinction it held until 1868. Naper's Settlement was incorporated as the Village of Naperville in 1857, at which time it had a population of 2,000. Reincorporation as a city occurred in 1890. A predominantly rural community for most of its existence, Naperville experienced a population explosion, starting in the 1960s, but largely during the 1980s and 1990s following the construction of the East-West Tollway (now known as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) and North-South tollways. In the past two decades, it has nearly quadrupled in size as Chicagoland's urban sprawl brought corporations, jobs, and wealth to the area.[4]
On April 26, 1946, Naperville was the site of one of the worst train accidents in Chicagoland history. Two Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad trains, the Advance Flyer and the Exposition Flyer, collided 'head to tail' on a single track just west of the Loomis Street grade crossing. The accident killed 45 and injured more than 1000 residents. This event is commemorated in a metal inlay map of Naperville on the southeast corner of Nichols Library's sidewalk area.[5]
The March 2006 issue of Chicago magazine cites a mid-1970s decision to make and keep all parking in downtown Naperville free in order to keep downtown Naperville "alive" in the face of competition with Fox Valley Mall in Aurora and the subsequent sprawl of strip shopping malls. Existing parking meters were taken down, parking in garages built in the 1980s and 1990s is free, and parking is still available on major thoroughfares during non-peak hours.[4]
Naperville marked the 175th anniversary of its 1831 founding in 2006. The anniversary events included a series of celebrations, concerts and a balloon parade.[6]
Geography
Naperville is located at (41.749826, -88.156719).[7]
Topography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.0 km² (35.5 mi²). 91.6 km² (35.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water.
Downtown Naperville is located within DuPage County, but the city has stretched south into Will County, since at least the early 1980s.[8]
Climate
Cityscape
Culture
The Naperville Public Library has been ranked number one in the United States each year from 1999 through to 2006, for cities with populations between 100,000 and 249,999 by Hennen American Public Libraries ratings.[9]
There are three public library locations within city limits:
- The Nichols Library is located in downtown Naperville, at 200 W. Jefferson Street. It has been in this location since 1986. It is a 63,000 square feet (5,900 m2) structure[10] and is pictured at right. The previous library building still stands on Washington Street, just south of the YMCA building, at Washington and Van Buren.
- The Naper Boulevard Library was dedicated in December 1992 and underwent internal renovations in 1996. It is located at 2035 S. Naper Boulevard and is the smallest of the three buildings at 32,000 square feet (3,000 m2).[10]
- The 95th Street Library is located near the intersection of 95th Street and Route 59, at 3015 Cedar Glade Drive (just west of Neuqua Valley High School). It is the newest (opened in September 2003) and largest of the three libraries at 73,000 square feet (6,800 m2)[10] and features a modern, curving architectural style.
In May 2005, a local technology company was contracted to install fingerprint scanners as a more convenient access method to the libraries internet computers,[11] provoking some controversy. After further testing, the technology was not implemented.[11]
The three libraries are used heavily by the public including around one and a half million visitors and a circulation of about four million items yearly.[10]
Naperville is home of the Naperville Independent Film Festival, an annual film festival which features the work of independent filmmakers.[12]
Performing arts
Tourism
Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon
In 1999, Naperville was designated a White House Millennium Community, due to the construction of the Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon. The tower is located just north of Aurora Avenue and at the base of Rotary Hill within the Riverwalk Park complex. The Millennium Carillon is specially designated as a Grand Carillon, with 72 bells, and is one of only four worldwide that span six octaves. The Millennium Carillon was dedicated in an Independence Day event on June 29, 2000, with a reception attended by over 15,000, and a performance by the Naperville Municipal Band and the Naperville Men's Glee Club and Festival Chorus. The Carillon is both manually and also computer-playable, with most performances being done by hand, but with half the bells played by a computer-controlled system at set times during the day. At present, the Carillon is operational and tours are available after concerts. Disputes over funding the completion of the tower were debated before the Naperville City Council during the fall of 2005 (and are still not resolved). The design of the tower won an award for "Best Custom Solution" from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI).[13]
Sports
Media
Naperville is the setting for a Biography Channel reality television show called "Female Forces" which follows female officers from the Naperville Police Department.[14]
Economy
Naperville is located in the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Employers contributing to the population explosion of the 1980s and 1990s include Bell Labs, Western Electric, BP Amoco Labs, Nalco Chemical Nicor, Porsche Finance and Edward Hospital. Tellabs and Laidlaw have corporate headquarters in Naperville, and ConAgra's Grocery division offices are also in Naperville.[15] OfficeMax moved corporate headquarters to Naperville in 2006.[16] Also, Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory are nearby. Naperville was one of the ten fastest growing communities in the United States during the 1990s.[17]
Naperville is also home to one of the largest congregations of automobile retailers in the state, as part of the "Ogden Avenue Strip," which extends from Hinsdale to Aurora and includes every mainstream make of automobile available. AutoNation and Bill Jacobs are two of the largest groups within the city itself.[18]
Naperville is also home to a plant and the headquarters of Dukane Precast, a precast concrete manufacturer.
Demographics
According to the 2005 American Community Survey, there were 147,779 people, 48,655 households, and 37,143 families residing in the city; as of 2006-07-01, Naperville is the 164th most populous city in the United States.[19] The population density was 1,606.3/km² (4,162.8/mi²).[20] There were 51,636 housing units at an average density of 561.3/km² (1454.5/mi²).[20] The racial makeup of the city was 82.00% White, 2.54% African American, 0.07% Native American, 12.65% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.26% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races.[21] Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.23% of the population.[21]
There were 48,655 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families.[21] 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[21] The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.55.[20]
In the city, the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older.[21] The median age was 35.9 years.[21] For every 100 females there were 95.9 males.[21] For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.[21]
The median income for a household in the city was $101,894, and the median income for a family was $130,164.[20] Males had a median income of $82,515 versus $46,533 for females.[22] The per capita income for the city was $48,239.[20] About 2.5% of the population was below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.[22]
Law and government
Township
Naperville is located in 4 townships in 2 counties. Lisle township has the largest number of Napervillians, followed by Naperville township, followed by Wheatland township.
Education
Colleges and universities
- North Central College is located on a 59 acre campus in Downtown Naperville on Chicago Avenue. It was founded by a predecessor church to the United Methodist Church in 1861 and has been located in Naperville since 1870. The college remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
- Northern Illinois University maintains a satellite campus on Diehl Road offering several degrees at its 113,000-square-foot (10,500 m2) facility.
- DePaul University maintains a satellite campus on Warrenville Road. It has been in Naperville since 1997.
- The College of DuPage Naperville Center is located on Rickert Drive.
- DeVry University maintains a satellite campus on Westings Avenue in Naperville.
- Governors State University recently opened a satellite campus on West 95th Street in Naperville.
- Northwestern Business College has a Naperville campus on North Mill Street.
- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign opened a Business & Industry Services campus in Naperville in 2007.
Primary and secondary schools
Two K-12 public school districts serve the city of Naperville (along with a number of private, parochial schools, including private schools in neighboring Aurora and Lisle). Within the state of Illinois, school districts are numbered by their county.
Naperville Community Unit School District 203, established in 1972 through the merger of elementary and high school districts, serves central Naperville (as well as portions of neighboring Lisle and Bolingbrook). The current District 203 school buildings were constructed between 1928 (Ellsworth) and 1990 (Kingsley).[23]
The district has two high schools: Naperville Central High School and Naperville North High School, five junior high schools, and thirteen elementary schools within Naperville city limits.[24]
Indian Prairie School District 204 was also formed through merged districts in 1972. Waubonsie Valley High School, Neuqua Valley High School, Metea Valley High School (Opening Fall 2009), along with five middle schools and 14 elementary schools from this district, are within Naperville city limits. The district also serves western and southwestern Naperville, along with eastern Aurora and parts of Bolingbrook and Plainfield.[25]
Private schools located in the city limits include St. Raphael Catholic School, SS. Peter and Paul Catholic School, All Saints Catholic Academy, Naperville Christian Classical Academy, Calvary Christian School, and Chesterbrook Academy.
Infrastructure
Health systems
Edward Hospital serves Naperville while Good Samaritan in Downers Grove, Central DuPage in Winfield and two other hospitals in nearby Aurora also serve the city. For many years, Edward Hospital and others have tried to introduce a new hospital into Naperville only to have their request turned down. Thus, Naperville remains the only large Illinois city with only one hospital. Edward Hospital currently is trying to open a hospital in nearby Plainfield to help Naperville citizens with travel times to Edward Hospital.[26]
Parks
The Naperville Park District manages and provides leisure and recreational activities for Naperville and nearby residents. The District was established by referendum in 1966. As of 2007, the Park District manages over 2,400 acres (10 km2) of open space, including over 130 parks and four sports complexes.[27] The Park District also manages two golf courses, Springbrook and Naperbrook.[28] In addition, the Park District is responsible for the Naperville Riverwalk, construction of which began in 1981, marking the 150th anniversary of the first Joseph Naper's settlement. Some of the other facilities managed by the Park District include:
- Centennial Beach, with adjacent Centennial Park.
- Two parks dedicated to skateboarding and in-line skating, at Frontier Sports Complex and Centennial Park.
- Commissioners Park, which includes Naperville's first official Cricket pitch, opened in 2006.
- Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center
- Community Garden Plots, located on West Street.
- Knoch Knolls Park, which includes a nine-hole frisbee golf course, located on 95th Street.
- Naperville Sportsman's Club - Trap shooting range
Public utilities
Transportation
Roads
As a typical American suburb, the main mode of transportation is via automobile. The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (the tolled portion of Interstate 88) runs near the north edge of Naperville, and Interstate 55 runs south of the city, through Bolingbrook and Romeoville.
From 75th Street south (including 83rd Street, 87th Street, etc.) Naperville east-west streets and their names roughly follow the same grid layout as the City of Chicago. In other words, if 75th street continued east past its terminus at Illinois Route 83, in Willowbrook, it would eventually be the same 75th Street as found in Chicago city limits. However, the older part of Naperville has a second numerical grid, starting downtown at Main and Benton, with 4th and 5th Avenues just north of the BNSF tracks, and continuing through 15th Avenue. The difference is that the numbers in the older system go up from downtown, traveling south to north, and the other grid's numbers go up as you travel north to south. See the Chicago Streets & Highways article for more information. There is also a geographical based naming system, with West Street and North Street defining the older boundaries of the city. Along with these are streets named after the city they lead to, i.e, Naper/Plainfield Road heads towards Plainfield, while Aurora Avenue leads to Aurora and Chicago Avenue to Chicago (it becomes Maple Ave. in neighboring Lisle before becoming 55th Street). Oswego Road, while having once led to Oswego via U.S. Route 34, no longer connects to that highway, and thus no longer leads directly to Oswego, Illinois.
Train service
The first rail link to Chicago dates to 1864. Naperville currently has three tracks belonging to the BNSF Railway that run through the north end of town, with passenger rail service provided by Metra and Amtrak. Amtrak's three routes through Naperville are the Illinois Zephyr, the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief.
Bus service
Pace provides feeder bus service to the Metra stations and local midday service, both operated under contract. It also operates bus routes from Naperville to Aurora (which serves Aurora's Westfield Fox Valley Mall) and Wheaton (which serves the College of DuPage).
Airport
There is also one private airport, the Naper Aero Club field, designation LL-10, on the western edge of town. The field is notable for being the home of the Lima Lima Flight Team.
Sister cities
Nitra, Slovakia has been Naperville's official sister city since the Naperville City Council approved the partnership on November 17, 1993. Nitra was chosen, in part, due to a desire to create a special bond with a city in one of the newly-formed democracies brought about by the fall of the Iron Curtain.[29] Nitra was also chosen due to several similarities between the two cities, such as:
- both enjoy a riverwalk in the downtown area
- both are college towns
- similar climates
- similar population (100,000+) and size
Since the inception of this partnership, the Naperville Sister Cities Commission has worked to strengthen the bond between Naperville and Nitra through its support of various events and delegations. The primary goal of such sister city programs is to increase awareness of other cultures and promote international friendship, and the Naperville-Nitra partnership has so far been a successful one.[29]
In 2002, the Sister Cities Commission supported a youth baseball exchange, sending the Naperville Patriots baseball team, composed of 15 high school age ballplayers representing each of the four high schools, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, in the Naperville area, to Nitra. The team travelled throughout Slovakia, and played with and held clinics for the newly-formed Nitra "Little Giants" baseball team. Head coach Dave Perillo and captains Jason Fitterer and Rob Losik were responsible for organizing the clinic for the Nitra players, which proved to be a success. The Naperville Patriots also enjoyed the distinction of being the first baseball team from the United States ever to travel to the nation of Slovakia.[30]
In addition to this exchange, the City of Naperville has supported several other events to strengthen the bond with Nitra, including:
- Hosting the Illinois State Sister City Convention (2000)
- Co-sponsoring Slovak Cultural Heritage Week, a cultural exchange of Slovak folk musicians (1999)
- Hosting a 12-member delegation from Nitra (1997, 1994)
- Sending a 12-member delegation to Nitra (1998, 1993)
- YMCA camp counselor exchanges; hosting a basketball team from Nitra (1998)
The community at large has enthusiastically supported the Naperville-Nitra partnership, as well. In 1999, Naperville's Our Savior's Lutheran Church raised $275,000 to rebuild a church in Nitra, which was then dedicated the following year. NALCO and school districts 203 and 204 have also shipped 6,000 pounds of books to Nitra since 1993.[29]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Naper Settlement History Retrieved on September 11, 2007
- ↑ "Best Places to Live 2006 - Money Magazine". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/index.html.
- ↑ United States Census Bureau Population Estimate
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2006/Why-Everybody-Loves-Naperville/
- ↑ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060426/ai_n16230303.
- ↑ https://www.naperville.il.us/naper175_template.aspx?id=1491
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ http://www.napervillerealestate-bw.com/naperville-government.asp
- ↑ Hennen, Thomas J.. "2010 Hennen's American Public Library Ratings Edition". Hennen's American Public Library Ratings Index. http://www.haplr-index.com/2010_haplr_edition.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 http://www.naperville-lib.org/atl/libpolicy/StrategicPlan_2007_10.pdf
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2005abc/may2005ab/naperville.cfm
- ↑ Melissa Jenco (2009-09-17). "Naperville Film Fest: 8 days, 80 flicks". Daily Herald. http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=321508&src=2. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ↑ http://www.pci.org/markets/markets.cfm?path=tanks&id=millennium.cfm
- ↑ "Female Police Officers - Female Forces on Biography.com". biography.com. http://www.biography.com/female-forces/. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.tellabs.com/contact/hq_map.pdf
- ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-29-2005/0004135252&EDATE=
- ↑ http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-2.pdf
- ↑ http://auto-dealers.naperville.ypeek.com/
- ↑ "Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2006 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2006-06-20. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2006-01.csv. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 "Fact Sheet for Naperville, IL". 2005 American Community Survey. US Census Bureau. September 2006. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&pctxt=fph&_lang=en&_sse=on&geo_id=16000US1751622&_state=04000US17. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 "General Fact Sheet for Naperville, IL". 2005 American Community Survey. US Census Bureau. September 2006. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US1751622&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_DP1&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Economic Fact Sheet for Naperville, IL". 2005 American Community Survey. US Census Bureau. September 2006. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US1751622&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_DP3&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ↑ http://www.naperville203.org/schools/LinkstoSchools.asp
- ↑ http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Illinois/Naperville/schools.html
- ↑ http://ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Subpage.aspx/SchoolsAtAGlance
- ↑ http://dailyherald.com/story/?id=46692
- ↑ http://www.napervilleparks.org/parksfacilities/
- ↑ http://www.napervilleparks.org/golf/
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 http://www.naperville.il.us/dynamic_content.aspx?id=625
- ↑ http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-3293268_ITM
Further reading
- Biographical page about Harold Moser including a brief history of Naperville, from Northern Illinois University.
- Gingold, Katharine Kendzy (2007). Ruth by Lake and Prairie; True Stories of Early Naperville. Gnu Ventures Company. ISBN 978-0-9792419-0-1.
External links
- The Official Site of the City of Naperville, IL
- Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce
- Naperville Businesses and Organizations
- Visit Naperville - The Naperville Convention and Visitor's Bureau
Public schools
Recreational and educational amenities
Local media
Local blogs
Local radio
- WPFP, 1610 AM, emergency, city and road information
- Stop and Go Radio - Internet based community radio
- WONC, 89.1 FM, radio station at North Central College
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