Naperville is a city in DuPage County, Illinois and Will County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,358; The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 at 140,106.^[1] It is the fourth largest city in the state, behind Chicago, neighboring Aurora, and Rockford. Approximately 95,000 Napervillians live in DuPage County, while about 40,000 reside in Will County.

History

Naperville was founded in July, 1831 by Joseph Naper. The original establishment was called Naper's Settlement. 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. The accident killed 45 and injured more than 100. This event is commemorated in a metal inlay map of Naperville on the southeast corner of Nichols Library's sidewalk area.

The March 2006 issue of Chicago magazine, cites a mid-1970s decision to make and keep all parking in downtown Naperville free for keeping 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 founding in 1831 during 2006. The anniversary events included a series of celebrations and concerts.

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, Amoco Labs, Nalco Chemical, Nicor and Edward Hospital. Tellabs and Laidlaw have corporate headquarters in Naperville, and ConAgra's Grocery division's offices are also 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.

Honors

In July of 2006, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Naperville second on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States (behind Fort Collins, Colorado). This was up one spot from the previous year, where the city was honored with third place. [2] The U.S. Census Bureau called Naperville "the country's best place to be a kid" in 2004. The city has been named "Most Kid-Friendly City in America" by Zero Population Growth, and continues to be rated very highly at their website (#3 out of 74 as of March 2006). [3]

Since 1998, the Naperville Public Library was ranked the #1 public library in the U.S. in the 100,000 to 249,999-population category by American Libraries magazine, the official magazine of the American Library Association. [4]

In 2000, Naperville had the highest average income amongst cities with populations over 70,000.

The AARP listed Naperville as one of its "top ten small towns for senior citizens" in 2000. Walking magazine listed Naperville on its top ten list of U.S. "walking towns," in 1999.

Education

Higher Education

• North Central College is located on a 59-acre campus in Downtown Naperville on Chicago Avenue. It was founded by a predecessor church to the United Methodist Church in 1861 and has been located in Naperville since 1870. The college remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
• Northern Illinois University maintains a satellite campus on Diehl Road offering several degrees at its 113,000-square-foot facility.
• Robert Morris College maintains a satellite campus in Naperville.
• DePaul University maintains a satellite campus on Warrenville Road. It has been in Naperville since 1997.
• The College of DuPage Naperville Center is located on Rickert Drive.

Naperville Public 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

This district, established in the early 1970s through the merger of elementary and high school districts, serves central Naperville (as well as portions of neighboring Lisle). The current District 203 school buildings were constructed between 1928 (Ellsworth) and 1990 (Kingsley).

Indian Prairie School District 204, to which Naperville's third high school (Neuqua Valley High School) belongs, also serves western and southwestern Naperville, along with eastern Aurora and parts of Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Recreation

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 Road, 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. At present, the Carillon is operational but Moser Tower itself is incomplete and is not open to the public. Disputes over funding the completion of the tower were debated before the Naperville City Council during the fall of 2005. The design of the tower won an award for "Best Custom Solution" from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) [5].

By 2007, a DuPage River Trail will be opened for pedestrians and bicyclists, stretching from the DuPage River Sports Complex (at Naperville's boundary with Bolingbrook, Illinois) through Knoch Knolls Park (south of the DuPage/Will county line) to the Riverwalk in downtown Naperville. As of early July 2005, the trail can only be hiked from 87th Street to Hobson Road. This is due to continuing legal negotiations between the city and homeowners along the trail. From Hobson Road north to the Riverwalk, the path is fully open to both pedestrians and bicyclists.

Naperville Park District

The Naperville Park District manages and provides leisure and recreational activities for Naperville and nearby residents. The District was established by referendum in 1966. As of 2005 the Park District manages over 2,400 acres of open space, including over 130 parks and four sports complexes. The Park District also manages two golf courses, and is responsible for the Naperville Riverwalk, construction for which began in 1981, marking the 150th anniversary of the first Joseph Naper's settlement. Some of the 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, due to have Naperville's first official Cricket pitch, in 2006.
• Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center
• Naperbrook and Springbrook golf courses
• Community Garden Plots, located on West Street.
• Knoch Knolls Park, which includes a 9 hole frisbee golf course, located on 95th Street.

Naperville Public Libraries

There are three public library locations within city limits. The Public Libraries have been ranked #1 in the United States for eight straight years, from 1999-2006, for cities with populations between 100,000 and 249,999.

• The Nichols Library is located in downtown Naperville, at 200 W. Jefferson Street. It has been in this location since 1986. 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
• The 95th Street Library is located near the intersection of 95th Street and Cedar Glade Drive, at 3015 Cedar Glade Drive (just west of Neuqua Valley High School). The newest library opened in September 2003.

Events

The City of Naperville hosts many annual events, including:

• Saint Patrick's Day Parade (typically held on the last Saturday just before or on 17 March)
• Civil War Days (reenactments held at Naper Settlement, May)
• Memorial Day Parade (last Monday in May)
• Naper Days (formerly Joe Naper Day, in June), an outdoor festival
• Ribfest (just prior to and including Independence Day), an outdoor food festival (emphasis on Barbequed pig ribs) by National Exchange Club Naperville
• Last Fling (Labor Day weekend), an outdoor festival and carnival - by the Naperville Jaycees
• Labor Day Parade (held on Labor Day)- by the Naperville Jaycees
• Oktoberfest (Columbus Day weekend), an outdoor festival - by the Naperville Rotary Club
• Series of summer concerts Thursdays in Central Park by the Naperville Municipal Band, (founded in 1861) ^[2] and carillon concerts at the Millennium Carillon.^[3]

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. Limited bus service to and from the main Naperville train station, as well as destinations such as Aurora's Westfield Fox Valley Mall, are also available through the Pace suburban bus system.

A brief explanation of street names: 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.

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.

Train service

See also: Naperville (Amtrak station)

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. Amtrak's three routes through Naperville are the Illinois Zephyr, the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief.

Services

Fire and Police

There are nine Fire Department stations within city limits. The central Naperville Police Department station, on Aurora Avenue at River Road, is located next to Fire Station #7. The same location was also considered for a potential site for Naperville City Hall in the early 1990s, but a location on Naperville's Riverwalk was chosen instead.

• Fire Station #1 is on Chicago Avenue, east of downtown.
• Fire Station #2 is at the intersection of Bailey Road and Naper Boulevard.
• Fire Station #3 is at the intersection of Washington Street and Diehl Road
• Fire Station #4 is on Brookdale Road. This also has a training/burn tower and a hazardous material public drop-off site.
• Fire Station #5 is at the intersection of 87th Street and Naperville-Plainfield Road
• Fire Station #6 is on 103rd Street.
• Fire Station #7 and the Administrative Offices are on Aurora Avenue
• Fire Station #8 is on Modaff Road, just south of the intersection of Modaff and 75th Street
• Fire Station #9 is near the intersection of 5th Avenue and Ogden Avenue (US Route 34).

Religious institutions

Naperville is home to many religious institutions, serving different faiths and denominations. One of the area's first churches, the present St. John United Church of Christ congregation, was established in 1857 by German settlers. The church still holds monthly services in the German language.^[4] The Century Memorial Chapel, on the grounds of the Naper Settlement outdoor museum, dates from 1864. This chapel was the original home of Saint John's Episcopal church, which was organized in 1850 as the first Episcopal church in DuPage County.^[5]

Several of Naperville's religious institutions are also directly involved in education, such as Bethany Lutheran Church and School, Calvary Church and School (now located in Aurora, though for many years it was on Aurora Road in Naperville), St. Raphael's Church and School, Saints Peter and Paul Church and School, and the All Saints Catholic Academy.

Congregation Beth Shalom built a new synagogue and education center in the 1990s, and the Islamic Center of Naperville is located on Olesen Drive. In addition to the Christian churches and congregations named, there are five total Roman Catholic churches, four Baptist churches, two Churches of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, five United Methodist churches, one Presbyterian (USA) church, five Evangelical Lutheran churches, three Lutheran Missouri Synod churches, one Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, one African Methodist Episcopal church, and many non-denominational churches.^[6]

Sister City

Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg 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, comprised 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.

Geography

Naperville is located at 41°44′59″N, 88°9′21″W (41.749826, -88.155719)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.0 km² (35.5 mi²). 91.6 km² (35.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.39%) is water.

Downtown Naperville is located within DuPage County, Illinois, but the city has stretched south, into Will County, Illinois, since at least the early 1980s.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 128,358 people, 43,751 households, and 33,644 families residing in the city; as of 2005-07-01, Naperville is the 163rd most populous city in the United States.^[7] The population density was 1,400.8/km² (3,628.3/mi²). There were 45,651 housing units at an average density of 498.2/km² (1,290.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.19% White, 3.03% African American, 0.12% Native American, 9.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.24% of the population.

There were 43,751 households out of which 47.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.2% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $88,771, and the median income for a family was $101,590. Males had a median income of $75,905 versus $40,295 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,551. About 1.6% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

A number of residents of Naperville have gone on to fame in a variety of fields. These include:

• Jeff Blanzy, sports anchor WLS-TV
• John Calamos, self-made billionaire investor/money manager ranked # 289 by Forbes Magazine in 2006.^[8]
• Owen Daniels, professional American football player for the Houston Texans
• Antonio Davis, Former Chicago Bull^{[citation needed]}
• David Eigenberg, actor
• Gina Glocksen, American Idol contestant
• Jerry Hairston, Sr., professional baseball player
• Jerry Hairston, Jr., professional baseball player
• Scott Hairston, professional baseball player
• Harry Kalas, sportscaster
• Paul Konrad, WGN-TV meteorologist
• Phil Kosin, golf publisher and WSCR radio host
• Alan Krashesky, news anchor WLS-TV
• Dick Locher, editorial and Dick Tracy cartoonist; currently residing in Naperville
• Evan Lysacek, figure skater
• Justin McCareins, professional American football player
• Gary Miller, former ESPN anchor
• Marisol Nichols, actress
• Bob Odenkirk, actor, writer and director
• Anthony Parker, NBA player for the Toronto Raptors
• Candace Parker, University of Tennessee basketball player
• Sean Payton, Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints, 2006 Coach of the Year
• Mayor George Pradel, Naperville's mayor, former Officer Friendly
• Paul Sereno, paleontologist; currently residing in Naperville
• Jim Sonefeld, musician
• Paula Zahn, newscaster
• Robert Zoellick, Deputy Secretary of State

References

1. ^ United States Census Bureau Population Estimate
2. ^ Official website of the Naperville Municipal Band
3. ^ Naperville Carillon Website
4. ^ Saint John UCC About Us page
5. ^ Saint John's Episcopal Church Who We Are page
6. ^ List of places of worship in Naperville and surrounding communities
7. ^ Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2005 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division (2006-06-20). Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
8. ^ [1] Forbes magazine wealthiest people list 2006

• Biographical page about Harold Moser including a brief history of Naperville, from Northern Illinois University.
• Voting Page for "Naperville's Most Famous", sponsored by the Naperville Sun newspaper.

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