Highland Park

Frank Lloyd Wright: W.W. Willits House

Highland Park, city, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. Lying on Lake Michigan, it is a suburb of Chicago, located some 25 miles (40 km) north of downtown. Potawatomi Indians were recent inhabitants of the area when settlement of the site began in 1834. The community was called St. Johns and then Port Clinton before the arrival of the railroad in 1854, when it was renamed Highland Park. By the turn of the 20th century, the city had become a wealthy residential suburb of Chicago. Still mainly residential, the city also manufactures paper and plastic products. Ravinia Park (36 acres [15 hectares]) was established in 1904 as an amusement park. The park hosts one of the country’s most prominent music festivals and is the summer home (since 1936) of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The city also features a local theatre and a fine arts centre. The Chicago Botanic Garden, which contains more than 20 gardens spread over nearly 400 acres (160 hectares), is just south of the city, in neighbouring Glencoe. Inc. 1869. Pop. (2000) 31,365; (2010) 29,763.