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Naperville, Illinois
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Naperville is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area of Illinois in the United States. In 2006, Money magazine listed Naperville as #2 on its annual list of America's best small cities to live in. The city took the #3 position on the 2005 and 2008 lists.
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,358, and the population was estimated at 147,779 in 2006. Naperville is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago, neighboring Aurora, Rockford, and Joliet.
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Encyclopedia
Naperville is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area of Illinois in the United States. In 2006, Money magazine listed Naperville as #2 on its annual list of America's best small cities to live in. The city took the #3 position on the 2005 and 2008 lists.
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,358, and the population was estimated at 147,779 in 2006. Naperville 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 50,000 reside in Will County.
Once a quaint farming town, Naperville has evolved into a wealthy city due in part to a massive migration of professionals in the 1990s seeking jobs and globally renowned public schools. This can be seen in part by the enormous growth of high-tech companies such as Tellabs, Alcatel-Lucent and the BP North American Chemical Headquarters, all located in Naperville. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked both Naperville School District 203 high schools among the top 3 percent of high schools in the country. Also, District 204's Neuqua Valley High School and Waubonsie Valley High School, located in Aurora, IL, won the Grammy Gold Signature School award in 2005 and 2007 respectively, ranking them top in the nation for a music program in a high school.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Forty acres once housed Nike Site C-70 in Naperville, Illinois. It has since been "Divided into an office park and Nike Park, part of the Naperville Park District, with soccer, softball and Little League fields. It is located at the south-east corner of Mill Street and Diehl Road in northern Naperville.
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.
Naperville marked the 175th anniversary of its 1831 founding in 2006. The anniversary events included a series of celebrations, concerts and a balloon parade.
Geography
Naperville is located at (41.749826, -88.156719).
Topography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.5 square miles (92.0 km˛). 35.4 mi˛ (91.6 km˛) of it is land and 0.1 mi˛ (0.4 km˛) 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.
Climate
According to Koppen Climate Classification, Naperville is a DFA climate. Naperville has an annual average of of precipitation per year. Naperville’s seasonal average temperatures vary drastically, due to its inner position on the continent, an average high temperature in July is a blistering and an average temperature in January is . Naperville does see significant amounts of snowfall in the winter; sometimes due to the lake effect snow off of lake Michigan. In the summer, Naperville is often the target of severe storms, the majority occurring because of frontal uplift or mid afternoon convection. However, because of Naperville’s close proximity to lake Michigan, the most severe convective storms are often dismantled by the cool winds originating from Lake Michigan.
Culture
Public Libraries
The Naperville Public Library has been ranked #1 in the United States for eight straight years, from 1999-2006, for cities with populations between 100,000 and 249,999 by American Libraries magazine.
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 structure. 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 .
- 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 and features a modern, curving architectural style. It is pictured at right.
In May 2005, a local technology company was contracted to install fingerprint scanners as a more convenient access method to the libraries' internet computers, provoking some controversy. After further testing, the technology was not implemented.
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.
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. The Carillon instrument was dedicated in June 2000 and Moser Tower was opened to the public in the summer of 2007. The design of the tower won an award for "Best Custom Solution" from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). The City of Naperville was designated a White House Millennium Community in 1998 because of the Millennium
Carillon project.
Riverwalk
The Naperville Riverwalk is a four mile (6 km) long walk-way along the west branch of the DuPage River. The project began in 1981 as a memorial to Naperville's Sesquicentennial anniversary. Using volunteer time and donated money and materials, residents turned what was previously considered an eye-sore into a major attraction. The winding paths stretch through Naperville's downtown area and the residential neighborhoods flanking downtown. Rich with fountains, benches, and scenic bridges, the Riverwalk is known as Naperville's "Crown Jewel" according to the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation.
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 Financial Services, Edward Hospital, and Allied Van Lines. Tellabs and Laidlaw have corporate headquarters in Naperville, and ConAgra's Grocery division offices now occupy the former corporate headquarters of Allied Van Lines in Naperville. OfficeMax moved corporate headquarters to Naperville in 2006. Also, Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory are nearby. Naperville was one of the ten fastest growing communities in the United States during the 1990s.
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. Bill Jacobs is one of the largest groups within the city itself. The largest dealership in Illnois (based on sales volume) is Toyota/Scion of Naperville
Naperville is also home to a plant and the headquarters of Dukane Precast, one of the area's major precast concrete manufacturers.
The Naperville area is home to one of the nation's largest retail districts. As of 2009, retail occupancy is 92%, and square footage income is far above the national average. The Main Street Promenade is the base for downtown Naperville's retail and eatery hub. Route 59 is lined with big-box stores and hundreds of restaurants.
Demographics
According to the , 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. The population density was 4,162.8 people per square mile (1,606.3/km˛). There were 51,636 housing units at an average density of 1454.5/sq mi (561.3/km˛). The racial makeup of the city was 80.00% White, 3.54% African American, 0.07% Native American, 15.65% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.26% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.23% of the population.
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. 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. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.55.
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. The median age was 35.9 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $110,858, and the median income for a family was $123,221. Males had a median income of $87,527 versus $51,586 for females. The mean, or average, income for a family in Naperville was $148,316 according to the 2005 census.
The per capita income for the city was $44,235. 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.
Law and government
Naperville employs a Council-Manager form of municipal government consisting of a city manager, a part-time mayor, and an eight-member City Council. Though the current Mayor A. George Pradel works as though it is a full-time job, that is not intended or required.
Township
Illinois uses a form of government that dates back to mainly rural unincorporated areas (not part of any city), and a group of nine townships make up DuPage County. The city of Naperville extends over much of the area today with only small areas not included in the city. The township provides road services in unincorporated areas and also social services that include some sections of the city.
City Services
Colleges and universities
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).
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.
Indian Prairie School District 204 was also formed through merged districts in 1972. Neuqua Valley High School along with six middle schools and 14 elementary schools from this district, are all within Naperville city limits. Although located in Aurora, Illinois, Waubonsie Valley High School also serves some pockets of Naperville-based residents of District 204. A third high school, Metea Valley High School, is currently under construction and expected to open in time for the 2009-2010 academic year. The district serves western and southwestern Naperville, along with eastern Aurora and parts of Bolingbrook. Remaining schools in the district are located in Aurora and Bolingbrook, and these also serve students from Naperville.
Health systems
Edward Hospital, located on Washington Street just south of Naperville's downtown, is the primary hospital for the city. Neighboring hospitals, such as Central DuPage in Winfield and Good Samaritan in Downers Grove maintain affiliated medical offices within Naperville city limits.
Parks
The Naperville Park District manages and provides leisure and recreational activities for Naperville and nearby residents of all ages. The District was established by referendum in 1966. As of 2007, the Park District manages over of open space, including over 130 parks and four sports complexes. The Park District also manages two golf courses, Springbrook and Naperbrook. 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
The city of Naperville receives water from Chicago and Lake Michigan. Naperville's gas supplier is Nicor, which is also headquartered in Naperville.
A website has been established to monitor the cheapest gas stations and overall gas price trends in Naperville. This website is .
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. Many other major thoroughfares, such as Diehl Road, Bailey Road, Hobson Road, Modaff Road, Wehrli Road and countless others are named after early farming families and settlers to the area.
Train service
and Route 59 (Metra)
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. BNSF Railway operates trains from the Aurora Transportation Center in neighboring Aurora to Chicago Union Station with stops at the Route 59 Station and the Naperville Station, both of which are located within the city limits. Amtrak operates four routes through Naperville: The Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg, both with services to Quincy, Illinois; the California Zephyr, with services to Oakland, California; and the Southwest Chief, with services to Los Angeles, California.
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. 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.
In 2002, the Sister Cities Commission supported a youth baseball exchange, sending the Naperville Patriots baseball team, composed of 15 high school age ballplayers and 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.
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.
Notable people from Naperville
- Douglas Darien Walker - Better known as The Nostalgia Critic
Further reading
External links
Official city-related sites
Public schools
Recreational and educational amenities
Local media
Local restaurant listings
Local blogs
Local radio
In literature and popular culture
Shane Gericke's debut crime thriller, Blown Away is about a Naperville policewoman.
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