Winnetka, Illinois

Winnetka, Illinois
Village
The Wayside
Flag Seal
Location of Winnetka in Cook County, Illinois
Winnetka Show map of Greater Chicago Winnetka Show map of Illinois Winnetka Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 42°6′22″N 87°44′16″W / 42.10611°N 87.73778°W / 42.10611; -87.73778
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Township	New Trier
Incorporated	1869
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• President	Chris Rintz
Area [1]
• Total	3.89 sq mi (10.08 km2)
• Land	3.81 sq mi (9.87 km2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.21 km2)  2.06%
Elevation	650 ft (200 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,475
• Density	3,344.00/sq mi (1,290.96/km2)
	Down 1.87% from 2000
Standard of living (2015–2019)
• Per capita income	$123,319
• Median value of owner-occupied housing units	$1,091,700
Time zone	Central
ZIP code(s)	60093
Area code(s)	847 and 224
Geocode	82530
FIPS code	17-82530
Website	www.villageofwinnetka.org

Winnetka (/wɪˈnɛtkə/) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located 16 miles (26 km) north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475^[2] as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was the second-ranked Illinois community on Bloomberg's 2019 Richest Places Annual Index.^[3]

The first houses were built in 1836.^[4] That year, Erastus Patterson and his family arrived from Vermont and opened a tavern to service passengers on the Green Bay Trail post road. The village was first subdivided in 1854 by Charles Peck and Walter S. Gurnee,^[5] President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Winnetka's first private school was opened in 1856 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peck with seventeen pupils. In 1859, the first public school building was built with private funds at the southeast corner of Elm and Maple streets. The first year's budget for this school was $200.^[6] The village was incorporated in 1869 with a population of 450. The name is believed to originate from the Potawatomi language, meaning 'beautiful place'.^[7]

The oldest surviving house in Winnetka is the Schmidt-Burnham Log House. Originally constructed on what is now the Indian Hill Club on the south edge of town and in 1917 moved to Tower Road, it was moved in 2003 from Tower Road to the Crow Island Woods.^[8]

Winnetka's neighborhoods include estates and homes designed by distinguished architects including George Washington Maher, Walter Burley Griffin, John S. Van Bergen, Robert Seyfarth, Robert McNitt, Howard Van Doren Shaw and David Adler. Among Winnetka's celebrities are actor Rock Hudson and rock singer/songwriter/producer Richard Marx.

Churches in Winnetka were also designed by noted architects. Among them, the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, 440 Ridge Avenue, was designed in 1924 by architect Solon S. Beman.

In the 1920s, a colonial Georgian house was built at 671 Lincoln Avenue. The house is now known as the famous Home Alone house for its exterior being used as a shooting location for two films in the series, starting in 1990.

The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway was built in 1855 through Winnetka, connecting its namesake cities. It eventually became the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. Between 1937 and 1942 the railroad tracks through Winnetka were grade separated after several people were hit at grade crossings. In 1995 the C&NW was merged into the Union Pacific. Only Metra trains are operated on this track now; freight operations ended in the late 1980s. Winnetka has three Metra stations: Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, and Indian Hill.

The Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee electric interurban was built through Winnetka and the North Shore in the first decade of the 1900s, and the line through Winnetka was removed in 1955. This is now the Green Bay Trail bicycle path.

In 1904, the Winnetka Park District was established, making it the fourth oldest park district in the state of Illinois. Today, the park district maintains and operates 27 parks, five beaches, and golf, tennis, ice skating/hockey, and paddle tennis facilities.

The Crow Island School, designed by Eliel & Eero Saarinen and the architectural firm Perkins, Wheeler & Will,^[9] was declared a National Historical Landmark in 1990. It was declared 12th among all buildings and the best architectural design of all schools.^{[clarification needed]} Ten thousand people attended the opening in 1938.

In 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Winnetka. A plaque dedicated to him is on the Village Green, a park in the town, where he spoke.^[10] As a result of Dr. King's open housing campaign and the North Shore Summer Project, the nonprofit now known as Open Communities was founded.

According to the 2010 census, Winnetka has a total area of 3.893 square miles (10.08 km²), of which 3.81 square miles (9.87 km²) (or 97.87%) is land and 0.083 square miles (0.21 km²) (or 2.13%) is water.^[11]

Winnetka's northern border with Glencoe cuts through 58 homes, causing homeowners to have to pay taxes to, and seek permits from both villages. The two villages began discussing a solution during the 1920s, reaching a tentative agreement in 2007 in which each homeowner could choose a village from which to receive services while the boundary officially remained unchanged. Initially, 46 homeowners chose Winnetka, but the others had the option to choose a village later.^[12] The boundary was later updated to reflect these choices.^[13]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	584		—
1890	1,079		84.8%
1900	1,833		69.9%
1910	3,168		72.8%
1920	6,694		111.3%
1930	12,166		81.7%
1940	12,430		2.2%
1950	12,105		−2.6%
1960	13,368		10.4%
1970	14,131		5.7%
1980	12,772		−9.6%
1990	12,174		−4.7%
2000	12,419		2.0%
2010	12,187		−1.9%
2020	12,744		4.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

As of the 2020 census^[15] there were 12,744 people, 4,204 households, and 3,461 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,275.25 inhabitants per square mile (1,264.58/km²). There were 4,459 housing units at an average density of 1,145.98 per square mile (442.47/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 89.17% White, 0.25% African American, 0.04% Native American, 3.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 6.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.01% of the population.

There were 4,204 households, out of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.88% were married couples living together, 3.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.67% were non-families. 16.34% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.44% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 2.94.

The village's age distribution consisted of 32.4% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was in excess of $250,000, as was the median income for a family. Males had a median income of $200,944 versus $66,726 for females. The per capita income for the village was $134,596. About 1.7% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

Winnetka village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[16]	Pop 2010[17]	Pop 2020[18]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	11,848	11,334	11,257	95.40%	93.00%	88.33%
Black or African American alone (NH)	31	31	29	0.25%	0.25%	0.23%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2	9	4	0.02%	0.07%	0.03%
Asian alone (NH)	302	400	444	2.43%	3.28%	3.48%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	3	3	0.00%	0.02%	0.02%
Other race alone (NH)	8	14	47	0.06%	0.11%	0.37%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	72	125	449	0.58%	1.03%	3.52%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	156	271	511	1.26%	2.22%	4.01%
Total	12,419	12,187	12,744	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

For the history see Arthur Zilversmit, Changing schools: Progressive education theory and practice, 1930-1960 (University of Chicago Press, 1993). The Winnetka Public Schools system (District 36) consists of three elementary schools and two middle schools.^[19] Hubbard Woods (est. 1915^[20]), Crow Island (est. 1940), and Samuel Sewall Greeley (est. 1912) Elementary Schools serve grades kindergarten through four, students in fifth and sixth grades attend the Skokie School (opened 1922^[21]) and seventh and eighth graders attend the Carleton W. Washburne School (est. 1969^[22]), named after educator Carleton Washburne. Winnetka's schools were modeled after Washburne's educational philosophy in an experiment called the Winnetka Plan. The town's schools continue to reflect his educational philosophy. Crow Island is a National Historic Landmark due to its significant architectural design.

Some neighborhoods in the southern part of Winnetka are served by Avoca School District 37, which has schools in Glenview (Avoca West Elementary School; K-5) and Wilmette (Marie Murphy School; 6–8). Kenilworth School District 38 (Sears School; K-8) also includes a very small portion of the southeastern part of Winnetka, near Kenilworth.

Winnetka is in New Trier Township, and public school students who reside in Winnetka attend New Trier High School for grades 9 through 12.

• Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, est. 1920
• La Petite École de Chicago, Winnetka Campus^[23] (Preschool–9), bilingual school, est. 2020
• North Shore Country Day School (JK–12), est. 1919
• Sacred Heart School (Preschool–8), Catholic school, est. 1902^[24]
• The School of Saints Faith, Hope & Charity (Preschool–8), Catholic school, est. 1939

Media outlets covering Winnetka include the Winnetka-Glencoe Patch, the Chicago Tribune's TribLocal, the Pioneer Press, Winnetka Talk, and The Winnetka Current.

Metra serves three stations in Winnetka. All provide commuter rail service along the Union Pacific North Line. Trains travel south to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago, and north to Kenosha station.^[25] In the downtown area is The Winnetka station. Indian Hill is on the south end of the village and Hubbard Woods is at the north end.

Besides Metra, Pace Suburban Bus serves the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Winnetka has Pace Route 213 on Green Bay Road originating from Chicago Howard CTA Station, branching to Northbrook Court Mall, and the Highland Park, Illinois Metra Station. Pace also has route 423 from CTA's Linden Station in Wilmette branching to The Glen Town Center in Glenview, Illinois', then ending at Chicago's CTA Harlem Station. Pace route 423 enters Winnetka from Northfield on Willow Road, turning on to Hibbard Road, Elm Street, then Green Bay Road to Linden Station.

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"Big Noise from Winnetka," a 1938 jazz song by The Bobcats, has been featured in a number of Hollywood movies, including Let's Make Music and Reveille with Beverly.

Winnetka was mentioned in the novel Havana by Stephen Hunter. Secondary character Roger St. John Evans was mentioned as "The Big Noise From Winnetka".

The film Home Alone is set in Winnetka, and featured scenes filmed at 671 Lincoln Avenue. The street address is mentioned in the film, but the street is called "Lincoln Boulevard". The opening scenes of the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York were filmed at the same house. Over three decades after the original film's 1990 release, sightseers still visit the North Shore neighborhood, particularly around the Christmas holiday season.^[33]

Numerous other films have been shot in Winnetka, including portions of films Ocean's 12, Breakfast Club, National Lampoon's Vacation, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Risky Business, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She's Having a Baby and Uncle Buck. The film Contagion was filmed in the area in the spring of 2011. Holidate, a 2020 Netflix romantic comedy starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, is set in Winnetka.^[34]

A popular TV series, Sisters (1991–1996), was set primarily in Winnetka, but was not filmed there, except for some exterior establishing shots. This was also true of its erstwhile summer replacement series, Winnetka Road.

The characters on the TV series The League reside in Winnetka.

The TV series I Didn't Do It is set in Winnetka. The characters attend the fictional Ditka High School.

• Chicago portal

Notes

• Dickinson, Lora Townsend. The Story of Winnetka. Winnetka: Winnetka Historical Society, 1956.
• Zilversmit, Arthur. Changing schools: Progressive education theory and practice, 1930-1960 (University of Chicago Press, 1993).

• Official website