Park Ridge, Illinois
Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a northwestern suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is located north of downtown Chicago. It is close to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, and rail transportation. It borders three community areas of Chicago in its Far Northwest Side: Edison Park, Norwood Park, and O'Hare.
The soil is abundant with clay deposits, which made it a brick-making center for the developing city of Chicago. Park Ridge was originally called Pennyville to honor George Penny, the businessman who owned the local brickyard along with Robert Meacham. Later it was named Brickton. The Des Plaines River divides Park Ridge from neighboring Des Plaines, which is west of Park Ridge. Chicago is south and east of Park Ridge, and Niles and unincorporated Maine Township are to its north.
Per the 2020 census, the population of Park Ridge was 39,656.
History
The area of Park Ridge was inhabited by the Potawatomie until they were removed in 1833. The area was a convenient portage between the Des Plaines and Chicago rivers for the French explorers and in the early 1830s, the first settlers arrived from New England and New York. In 1854 George Penny established a brickworks in the area. Due to the brickwork and the abundance of clay, Park Ridge was nicknamed "Brickton" by locals. In 1910 Park Ridge had a population of 2,009. In 1930 the population was 10,417. In 1950 the population was 16,602. In 1960 the population was 32,625, with 99.9% of the population white. There were five African-Americans and 31 people classed other than black or white. By 1970, the population had risen to 42,466. In 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a graduate of the first class of Park Ridge's Maine South High School and former First Lady, was the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Park Ridge has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Climate
Park Ridge falls under the USDA 5b Plant Hardiness zone.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 35,307 | 33,744 | 33,444 | 93.47% | 90.03% | 84.34% |
| Black or African American alone | 85 | 168 | 204 | 0.23% | 0.45% | 0.51% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 20 | 19 | 16 | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.04% |
| Asian alone | 996 | 1,373 | 1,913 | 2.64% | 3.66% | 4.82% |
| Pacific Islander alone | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Other race alone | 27 | 36 | 128 | 0.07% | 0.10% | 0.32% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | 211 | 362 | 1,093 | 0.56% | 0.97% | 2.76% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,113 | 1,774 | 2,855 | 2.95% | 4.73% | 7.20% |
| Total | 37,775 | 37,480 | 39,656 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 census there were 39,656 people, 14,384 households, and 10,323 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 15,366 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 86.10% White, 4.87% Asian, 0.53% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.82% from other races, and 6.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.20% of the population.
There were 14,384 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.61% were married couples living together, 9.94% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.23% were non-families. 25.27% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.29% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 2.56.
The city's age distribution consisted of 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $113,809, and the median income for a family was $145,995. Males had a median income of $82,222 versus $51,371 for females. The per capita income for the city was $58,978. About 2.4% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Top employers
According to Park Ridge's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
| 1 | Advocate Lutheran General Hospital | 3,693 |
| 2 | Maine Township High School District 207 | 975 |
| 3 | Park Ridge Park District | 813 |
| 4 | Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 | 700 |
| 5 | City of Park Ridge | 350 |
| 6 | Presence Resurrection Health Care | 332 |
| 7 | FM Global | 300 |
| 8 | Mariano's Fresh Market | 276 |
| 9 | Advocate Medical Group | 250 |
| 10 | Park Ridge Community Bank | 225 |
Arts and culture
Park Ridge's most recognizable landmark is the Pickwick Theatre, an Art Deco building dating back to 1928. It is a movie theater and a venue for plays and concerts. In 1975, the theater was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Although smaller theaters have been added to the rear of the building, the main auditorium theater remains intact in its original large five-aisle state. The main auditorium can seat up to 800 people. In the 1980s, the Pickwick's facade was one of many used as the backdrop for the opening credits of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's At the Movies. Until 2017, it also had a restaurant of the same name next door.The city is home to the Park Ridge Public Library.
Education
Park Ridge is served by the Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, which has its headquarters in the Raymond E. Hendee Educational Service Center in Park Ridge. Area middle schools include Lincoln Middle School and Emerson Middle School in Niles. At one point there were nine public K–6 elementary schools: Oakton, Madison, Edison, Merrill, Carpenter, Field, Franklin, Roosevelt, and Washington. Only the latter five remain today, and all are in Park Ridge. Jefferson School is also part of the district and houses the special needs preschool for children ages 3 and 4.K-5 after-school programs are hosted by the Park Ridge Park District.
St. Paul of the Cross and Mary Seat of Wisdom are the two Catholic elementary schools. St. Andrews is a Lutheran elementary school.
The town is served by Maine Township High School District 207, which includes Maine South High School, and Maine East High School. Students who live in northern Park Ridge have the option of attending either Maine East or Maine South. Maine West High School is located to the west in Des Plaines. Maine North High School was a school in unincorporated Maine Township and part of Maine Township High School District 207. It closed in 1981 as the student population of Maine Township shrank.
District 207 shares student-run radio and television stations operating with the call letters WMTH-FM. Actor Harrison Ford, known for his roles in the Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Blade Runner movies, went to Maine East, and has been credited as being the radio station's first sports announcer. Since 2007, WMTH Radio can be heard live on any of the district high school homepage.
The town is a part of the Oakton Community College district.
Transportation
The Park Ridge station and Dee Road station provide Metra commuter rail service along the Union Pacific Northwest Line. Trains travel southeast to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago, and northwest to either Harvard station or McHenry station.Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Park Ridge to destinations across the region. Additionally, CTA operates the Route 68 bus to Chicago.
Notable people
Park Ridge is the hometown of Hillary Rodham Clinton. When she visited Park Ridge on the occasion of her 50th birthday in 1997, the city renamed the southeast corner of the intersection of Elm and Wisner streets, next to her childhood home, "Rodham Corner". Clinton graduated from Maine Township High School South, a new school built to accommodate the population of baby boomers coming through at the time.Park Ridge is also the hometown of movie stars Carrie Snodgress, Karen Black, Suzanne Snyder and Harrison Ford. All four attended Maine Township High School East. Sean Giambrone also grew up in Park Ridge. He is most notable for his role in The Goldbergs as Adam. He went to Lincoln Middle School and Maine South High School.
The first U.S. citizen to be canonized, Mother Frances Cabrini, attended St. Paul of the Cross Church and owned a farm at the north edge of Park Ridge.
Actor Harrison Ford, known for his roles in the Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Blade Runner movies, went to Maine East, and has been credited as being the radio station's first sports announcer.
James Pankow, a trombone player, songwriter, composer, and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Artist Grant Wood once lived and owned a shop in Park Ridge.
In popular culture
In film
- The 1980 film The Blues Brothers had some scenes filmed in Park Ridge, including the scene in which the brothers are first pulled over by the state police and the beginning of the subsequent chase. The Nelson Funeral Home and Shell gas station which the brothers drive past as the police pull out to intercept them are still in business at the intersection of Talcott and Cumberland avenues. The brothers are pulled over at the intersection of Cumberland and Gillick. As the chase progresses, a trooper radios that the chase is "proceeding on Courtland Avenue"; the subsequent scene in which the Blues Brothers and the police spin out in a three-way intersection occurs at the intersection of Devon Avenue, Talcott Road, and Courtland Avenue.
- In the 1990 film Home Alone, Buzz McCallister wears a Maine South High School letterman's jacket.
In television
- A curved-shaped house on Dee Road, located on Park Lake, appears several times in the TV police drama Crime Story, in which it is owned by crime boss Phil Bartoli.
- * In one episode, while driving away from the house, Pauli Taglia says, "We're in Park Ridge; nothing happens in Park Ridge."
- In the Route 66 episode "Voice at the End of the Line", Todd Stiles and Buzz Murdock are seen exiting a building labeled Park Ridge Medical Center, which was located at the southwest corner of Talcott and Canfield. The scene continues as they walk toward the corner of Yost and Canfield, where several Park Ridge houses on Yost are in view. Later in the episode, Todd and Buzz park in front of a white house located at the northeast corner of Prospect and Stewart Avenues, which was used as a boarding house in the episode. A later camera angle shows the house in the background as Todd and Buzz talk to a cab driver.
- In 2022, the Pickwick Theatre was featured in the "Completely Shattered" episode of NBC's Chicago Fire (TV series).
Sister city
Park Ridge has one sister city, which was formed in 1998:- Kinver, Staffordshire, England