Villa Park, Illinois

For other uses, see Villa Park (disambiguation).
Villa Park
Village
Village of Villa Park

Location in DuPage County and the state of Illinois.
Coordinates: 41°53′19″N 87°58′40″W / 41.88861°N 87.97778°W / 41.88861; -87.97778Coordinates: 41°53′19″N 87°58′40″W / 41.88861°N 87.97778°W / 41.88861; -87.97778
Country  United States
State Illinois
County DuPage
Townships York, Addison
Incorporated 1914
Government
 • Type Council-manager
 • President Deborah Bullwinkel
Area
 • Total 4.76 sq mi (12.3 km2)
 • Land 4.71 sq mi (12.2 km2)
 • Water 0.05 sq mi (0.1 km2)  1.05%
Population
 • Total 22,075
 • Density 4,600/sq mi (1,800/km2)
  Down 0.81% from 1990
Standard of living
 • Per capita income $50,054 (median: $52,739)
 • Home value $107,300 (median: $104,56)
ZIP code(s) 60181
Area code(s) 630 and 331
Geocode 77993
Website www.invillapark.com
Demographics (2000)[1]
White Black Hispanic Asian
80.67% 4.67% 10.75% 1.91%
Islander Native Other
0.03% 0.18% 2.78%

Villa Park is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, within the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 22,075 at the 2000 census.

History

When Ovaltine established its factory, it needed a way to make sure that its employees could get to and from work safely regardless of the weather, terrain or other issues. Villa Park was built originally for that reason.

Following the construction of a subdivision called Villa Park in 1908 and another called Ardmore in 1910 by the real estate firm Ballard & Pottinger, Villa Park was incorporated in 1914 by uniting the two subdivisions of 300 people. The first village president, William H. Calhoun, was elected on September 12, 1914. Although the merged town was originally named after the Ardmore subdivision, the community changed its name to Villa Park in 1917. Villa Park was one of a number of suburbs directly west of downtown Chicago that flourished as a result of the electric interurban line, the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad. The railroad ran from the Chicago Loop, directly west to Wheaton, Illinois, where it then split into two lines, one traveling southwest to Aurora and the other northwest to Elgin. Two small commercial areas developed, one around the Villa Avenue station and the other around the Ardmore Avenue station. In 1957, the CA&E ceased to carry passengers because of a dramatic drop in ridership from the loss of a one-seat ride by the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) and the general increase in use of personal automobiles. The right-of-way was eventually cleaned up and developed into a hiking and bicycling trail known as the Illinois Prairie Path. The Ardmore Station is now home to the Chamber of Commerce, and the Villa Avenue Station houses the Villa Park Historical Society.

Villa Park was home to the Ovaltine chocolate factory until it closed in 1988. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as building #86003781. It has since been converted into loft apartments.[2]

Many of the residents are of Eastern European heritage, including Polish, Czech, and Russian. There is also a significant Hispanic heritage.

A sizeable Muslim immigrant community began to gather in the area in the 1980s and 1990s and established the Islamic Foundation School in 1986.

Government

Villa Park has a manager-council government. The village manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the town. The current manager is Richard Keehner, Jr. The manager position is appointed by the Village Board of Trustees. The Clerk of Villa Park is Hosanna Korynecky. She was re-elected on April 9, 2013.

The village is governed by the Village President (Mayor) and six trustees, comprising the Village Board.

The six trustees are elected on a rotating basis every two years so not all the trustees are up for re-election at once. The current trustees are John Davis, Albert Bulthuis, Robert Taglia, Chris J. Aiello, Donald Kase and Robert Wagner.

Advising the Village Board on various issues are numerous commissions, composed of local residents appointed to the posts.

Trustee Deborah Bullwinkel was elected Village President on April 9, 2013, defeating former Villa Park Police Chief John Heidelmeier.

Notable people

Geography

Villa Park is located at 41°53′19″N 87°58′40″W / 41.88861°N 87.97778°W / 41.88861; -87.97778 (41.888650, -87.977884).[3]

According to the 2010 census, Villa Park has a total area of 4.759 square miles (12.33 km2), of which 4.71 square miles (12.20 km2) (or 98.97%) is land and 0.049 square miles (0.13 km2) (or 1.03%) is water.[4]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1920854—
19306,220628.3%
19407,23616.3%
19508,82121.9%
196020,391131.2%
197025,89127.0%
198023,155−10.6%
199022,253−3.9%
200022,075−0.8%
201021,904−0.8%
Est. 201521,969[5]0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 22,075 people, 7,810 households, and 5,748 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,695.2 people per square mile (1,813.4/km²). There were 7,987 housing units at an average density of 1,698.8 per square mile (656.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 80.67% White, 1.91% Asian, 4.67% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.65% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.75% of the population.

There were 7,810 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $50,739 and the median income for a family was $52,055 (these figures had risen to $45,821 and $47,152 respectively, as of a 2007 estimate[8]). Males had a median income of $81,429 versus $62,170 for females. The per capita income for the village was $87,054 About 2.6% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Ardmore Avenue Train Station
Villa Avenue Train Station

Villa Park has a commuter railroad station on Metra's Union Pacific/West Line with service west to Elburn, Illinois and east to downtown Chicago. The Ardmore Avenue Train Station and the Villa Avenue Train Station are also nationally registered historical places. The Ardmore Avenue Train Station is currently serving as the home for the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce, while the Villa Avenue Train Station is home to the Villa Park Historical Museum.

Both of these former train stations lie along the Illinois Prairie Path. The Illinois Prairie Path is a regional bicycle path linking Chicago's Western Suburbs which is popular with bicyclists and pedestrians during the warmer months, and is used for cross country skiing during winter months.

Points of interest

Villa Park Skate Park provides a unique skate park for skateboarders, bmx riders, rollerblading, and scooters. A Villa Park skate park committee was formed in 2007 to help fund-raise the project. The committee received multiple grants of money including one from the Tony Hawk foundation. The skate park was built January 2013 located on the property of Iowa Community center at 338 N. Iowa ave. The skate park is located closest to Addison Rd to prevent vandalism and gang activity.[9]

Motiv8 skate shop located at 415 N. Ardmore, about a two blocks from the skate park. Motiv8 made huge donations to the new skate park as well as open up a shop. The local skate shop provides most the equipment and products for consumers who use the skate park.[10]

Iowa Community Center located at 338 N. Iowa ave. provides mass amount of programs that range from preschool, dance lessons, swimming lessons, gymnastics, and etc. Located on the property is the skate park, a soccer field, and a community playground.[11]

Villa Park Historical Society and Visitors Center which was formally known as Villa Avenue Train Station. Now is a small history museum as well as an information bureau for visitors of Villa Park.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 2000 United States Census Data
  2. ↑ Lincoln Property Company, Inc. // Communities Archived September 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  4. ↑ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  5. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Villa Park Skatepark Committee | Public Skate Park Initiative". www.vpskate.com. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  10. ↑ "Motiv8 Skate Shop". Motiv8 Skate Shop. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  11. ↑ "Home - Villa Park Parks & Recreation". vprd.org. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  12. ↑ "Home". Villa Park Historical Society. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
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