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Evanston (formerly Ridgeville, Illinois) is a city on Lake Michigan in Cook County, Illinois directly north of Chicago, east of Skokie, and south of Wilmette. The city was first settled in 1836, and as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,239. Evanston is part of Chicago's affluent North Shore region.
After being chosen as the home for Northwestern University, the city was incorporated in 1863, and named after John Evans, the University's founder. During the 1960s Northwestern University changed the city's shoreline with a 74 acre (300,000 m²) lakefill.
Today, the city is home to Northwestern University and other educational institutions as well as headquarters of Alpha Phi International women's fraternity, Rotary International, the National Lekotek Center, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Evanston is also the birthplace of Tinkertoys, automobile racing, and (allegedly) the ice cream sundae.
Evanston has a council-manager system of government and is divided into nine wards, each of which is represented by an Alderman, or member of the Evanston City Council. Its current mayor is Lorraine H. Morton. The city government has often had a shaky relationship with Northwestern University, which does not pay property taxes to the city. This is due to the founding charter of Northwestern University, signed in 1851, which granted the school a permanent exemption from paying property taxes. This shaky relationship has led to tension over building codes, law enforcement, and politics. Recently, factions of the city government have made efforts to divide Northwestern's campus into several different wards, possibly to dilute its students' voting potency.
The CTA's Purple Line, part of the Chicago 'L' system, runs through Evanston. From its terminal at Howard in Chicago, the line heads north to the South Blvd, Main, Dempster, Davis, Foster, Noyes, and Central stations, before terminating at Linden in Wilmette. Metra's North Line also serves Evanston, with stations at Main Street, Davis Street and Central Street. The CTA's Yellow Line also runs through the city, though it only stops at Howard.
Geography
Evanston is located at (42.046380, -87.694608) and is at an elevation of 600 ft.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.1 km² (7.8 mi²). 20.0 km² (7.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.26%) is water.
In August 2004 there was some confusion as to the size of Evanston. Evanston is often locally listed as being 8.4 mi², but this number appears to be incorrect. The 7.8 mi² listed by the United States Census Bureau is more accurate.
Politics
Evanston has a history of supporting candidates affiliated with the Democratic party in elections on all levels of government. In the 2004 presidential election, Democratic candidate John Kerry won 82% of Evanston's vote. His Republican opponent, George W. Bush, only won 17% of the vote in Evanston.
People from Evanston
Notable Evanstonians include actors John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Alicia Goranson, Charlton Heston, Jeremy Piven, and Rosanna Arquette, Marilyn Dodds Frank, William Petersen, Zach Braff; comedian Ruby Wax; drama critic Walter Kerr; Hall of Fame baseball player Freddie Lindstrom; Hall of Fame football player Paddy Driscoll; pro football player Emery Morehead, inventor Laurens Hammond; news anchor Charles Gibson; newspaper columnist Drew Pearson; politicians Charles Gates Dawes and Jim Kolbe; Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Lee Mahin; Fox Searchlight President Nancy Utley; Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; temperance advocate and suffragist Frances Willard; novelist, playwright and journalist Lawrence Gonzales; writer/critic Garry Wills; and musicians Fred Anderson, David Burge, John Nance, Liz Carroll, John Williams, Frank Donaldson, Steve Goodman, Greg Graffin, Howard Levy, Bobby Short, Grace Slick, Forrest Buchtel, Sr., and his son, Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Fred Simon, David Onderdonk, Billy "The Buddha" Dickens, Paul Nebenzahl, Eddie Vedder, and pianist Christopher O'Riley.
Evanston in fiction
- In Cheaper by the Dozen, the Baker family moves to Evanston.
- Serves as the setting for the movie Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohan.
- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger has several scenes set in Evanston.
- Drew Barrymore's character in Never Been Kissed attended Northwestern University.
- The ABC series Once and Again was also set in Evanston.
- Daniel Cosgrove's character, Richard "Dick" Bagg, in Van Wilder interviews with representatives from Northwestern University medical school.
- Kevin Costner's character in Dragonfly lives in Evanston.
Evanston in film
- Parts of "Curly Sue", "Dennis The Menace", "Home Alone", "Home Alone 3", "Julius Caesar" (1950), "Proof", "Road to Perdition", "Rookie Of The Year", "She's Having A Baby...", "Sixteen Candles", "The Princess Bride", "The Weather Man", "Dragonfly" and "Uncle Buck" were filmed in Evanston, as well as a 2004 Chevrolet commercial.
Education
Public schools
High school
All of Evanston (and part of the village of Skokie) is within the boundaries of Evanston Township High School District 202. The district has a single high school, Evanston Township High School (ETHS) with an enrollment of just over 3000, covering grades 9 through 12. The school's mascot is the Wildkit (a diminutive of Northwestern's Wildcats) and the school's colors are orange and blue. Its biggest rival is New Trier High School in Winnetka.Primary schools
Evanston-Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65, covering all of Evanston and part of Skokie, provides primary education from pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The district has ten elementary schools (through fifth grade), three middle schools (grades 6 through 8), two magnet schools (K through 8) and three special schools or centers. Total district enrollment in 2004 was 6,622 students.The region of Skokie served by Evanston schools is referred to colloquially as Skevanston.
| Elementary schools |
Private and parochial schools
In addition to the highly regarded public schools, Evanston offers a variety of other educational choices. Roycemore School (640 Lincoln Street) is an independent coeducational college preparatory day school providing a liberal arts education to students from junior kindergarten through grade 12. Since the closing of St. George High School in 1969, there is no Catholic high school in Evanston, but many Evanston residents attend co-educational Loyola Academy in Wilmette, all-boys Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, all-girls St. Scholastica Academy in Chicago or Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, and other area Catholic high schools.There are also a variety of non-public primary schools in or near Evanston:
- Baker Demonstration School (2840 Sheridan Road) - independent; grades pre-k through 8
- The Barbereux School (3333 Culver St.) - independent; grades pre-k through 1
- Chiaravalle Montessori School (425 Dempster Street) - Montessori; grades pre-k through 8
- Midwest Montessori School (2408 Orrington Avenue) - Montessori; grades pre-k through 3
- Pope John XXIII (1120 Washington Street) - Catholic; grades pre-k through 8
- Roycemore School (640 Lincoln Street) - independent; grades pre-k through 12
- St. Athanasius School (2510 Ashland Avenue) - Catholic; grades pre-k through 8
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 74,239 people, 29,651 households, and 15,952 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,698.6/km² (9,584.1/mi²). There were 30,817 housing units at an average density of 1,535.3/km² (3,978.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.23% White, 22.50% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 6.09% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 2.85% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. 6.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 29,651 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.2% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 16.4% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $56,335, and the median income for a family was $78,886. Males had a median income of $51,726 versus $39,767 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,645. About 5.1% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Populations of the past
Recent population trends
External links
- City of Evanston
- Woman's Club of Evanston
- Evanston-Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65
- Evanston Township High School
- Evanston Public Library
- Evanston Historical Society at the Charles Gates Dawes House
- Frances Willard House
- Northwestern University
- Roycemore School
Cities in Illinois | Cook County, Illinois
Evanston (Illinois) | Evanston | Evanston, Illinois | Evanston (Illinois) | Evanston
"Evanston, Illinois"