Elgin, Illinois

 

~108,000 population

~ 40 miles from Chicago, 75 minute ride on Metra to Union Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know it was that big.  Thanks for the tour.  I went to Aurora recently for my friends art gallery opening and was surprised how big that was too.  Some of these far flung suburbs used to be actual self sustaining small cities at one point in history before they became part of Chicagoland suburban sprawl.  I had no idea.

Downtown Elgin looks much healthier than it did when I last saw it in the 1980s. Its riverside location gives it some topographic relief, which is nice to come across in the flatlands of northeastern Illinois.

Good looking town. I have long meant to check-out Elgin, Aurora, and Joliet, but have not made it there yet.

eh, its just ok. a few nice bldgs and that wacky tower -- out of nowhere lol!

 

Elgin is kind of...slummy.  It really doesn't have a great reputation amongst Chicagolanders.  Similar to the way in Cleveland we may view Elyria.  Nearby Sleepy Hollow and Plato Center however are full of McMansions.  It's almost like Elgin Sprawl into those towns. 

Thanks!

Interesting Victorian and Art Deco architecture. I like how many of Chicago's burbs have substantial downtowns, largely centered around commuter rail stations.

One of my co-workers was born and raised in Elgin and she always talks about some castle shaped house in Elgin that is 'haunted'. I will have to ask her about it again, maybe check it out one day

Elgin. 

 

Wow.

 

A blast from the past, for sure!

 

This was the end-of-the-line for the old Milwaukee Road commuter trains that ran from Union Station west...through my old neighborhood (Cragin).  During summers when my grandfather had a vacation, we'd  catch the train and ride it to the end of the line in Elgin (a treat for me, my sister, and my two cousins, who lived in the same building as us).

 

The station was across the Fox River from downtown, and there was an island park in the river.

 

Back then (1960s) downtown Elgin was pretty busy, so we'd walk into town.  There was a short-order diner place in the ground floor of that little art deco high rise, the "Tower Grill", and my grandfather bought has grilled cheese, BLTs, milk shakes & floats...then we walked back, to that island park and to catch the train into the city (there still was a lot of open country btw Chicago and Elgin back then). 

 

There also used to be a big foundery directly on the river across from that island, near the station (north of the station).  You could peek in the windows into the murky interior and seeing guys tap the furnances, and feel the heat  My grandfather used to tell me I'd end up working in a place like that if I didn't get a college education (lol...& I was still a kid)....

 

The other big industry in Elgin was Elgin Watch, which had a huge plant on the south side of town (sort like that big Crowe Collier factory in Springfield).  I think that was replaced by a casino or shopping center.

 

Thanks for the memories...

 

Some of these far flung suburbs used to be actual self sustaining small cities at one point in history before they became part of Chicagoland suburban sprawl.  I had no idea.

 

Waukegan, Elgin, Aurora, and Joliet used to be called the "Satellite Cities"...and they were as you describe.  Small industrial cities. Sort of like Hamilton, Middletown, and Springfield.  Especially Hamilton since its on a river. 

 

That Fox River valley that has Aurora and Elgin was a bit like the Great Miami running btw Dayton and the Cincy area....there are smaller towns along it that used to be small factory/trading  towns:  Carpentersville (which had a big old factory/mill along the river), Geneva, St Charles, Batavia...sort of like Miamisburg,  Franklin, West Carollton, Excello, and so forth.

 

The Fox River valley between  Aurora and Elgin was a built-up area beyond suburbia back in those days...suburban development pretty much ended at Wheaton and Naperville, and maybe Roselle...and you were in a countryside of flat to rolling cornfields & open farmland & "high prairie" .....towns like Bartlett and West Chicago were "out in the country" (West Chicago is an interesting case as its not really a suburb, either).....

 

Anyway, good call...not really suburbia.

 

All these satellite citys would be familiar environments to Ohioans who know our own small industrial cities.

Elgin and Aurora long had a reputation for being "ghetto", but it appears that there is some revitalization going on in both towns.

 

About a month ago I did a bicycle trip up the Fox River valley from Aurora to Elgin, taking the metra out to Aurora then riding it back into Chicago from Elgin.  The area is quite pretty by Illinois standards and the bike path really nice.  I'd have to say my favorite old town in the area is St. Charles, which is quite charming being nestled on both sides of the river with a really great small town feel.

 

The SW Ohio comparisons are pretty accurate, though I'd have to say that Middletown has declined a lot more than most of these old towns have.  I've also heard that this area is culturally more conservative than most of NE Illinois and has a bit of a "redneck" reputation (on the outer fringes west of the river).

 

My friend who grew up in Batavia and was with me on this bicycle trip was impressed by how much nicer Elgin was, and when I was in Aurora I noticed a few condos, though it still mostly seemed working class latino (good mexican food btw).

 

These towns really do seem like the best of both worlds between small town laid back and big city walkable - and most of them have good train access to the real city too :).