Glasses clink, silverware scrapes, and chatter stuffs the room in any one of the new downtown Glenview restaurants, where 125 years ago one would’ve heard the mooing and chomping of dozens of cattle. The spaces of Glenview have changed drastically since its incorporation as a farming community, Kimberly Schlarman, Glenview Public Library Genealogy and Local History Supervisor and Glenview History Board Member, said.
Today’s Village of Glenview is not the Glenview of 1899. As the years passed, a population increase combined with developments in transportation, including the railroad and Edens Expressway, turned a quiet farming community into a commuter suburb, changes that still remain part of Glenview’s appeal today, Schlarman added.
Originally a hub for greenspace and agriculture, the village has modernized to fit its current citizens’ needs, Schlarman said. However, these developments did not negate Glenview’s interest in preserving its nature, she added. There have been efforts to preserve natural areas since the latter half of the 20th Century, and those efforts have kept trees, parks, and preserves available for future generations, Schlarman said.
The current village board is focused on developing downtown Glenview while also balancing business and livability issues, Scott Britton, Cook County Commissioner and former Village of Glenview Board Member, said. The new changes bring excitement, even to those who got the ball rolling in the first place, Britton said.
“I’ve lived in Glenview since 1999, and I can tell you, this is probably the most exciting time frame [I’ve seen],” Britton said. “The new green spaces and recreation facilities that we’re going to have [are] balanced with a lot of really, really exciting concepts and businesses and restaurants. It’s a really good time to live in the Village of Glenview.”
With a growing town comes new ways to meet people, yet the ways of doing so are deeply rooted in old traditions, Schlarman said. Street fairs or festivals and parades have been important to Glenview for over 100 years: a large parade in 1917 celebrated the donation of the Jackman Bear Fountain in the south of Jackman Park, Schlarman added. That celebration turned into the Glenview Days festival which has morphed over the years into our current Summer Fest, she explained.
“[Festivals like Summer Fest and Blocktoberfest] have always been a great way to bring the community together and to get people downtown,” Schlarman said.
Whether it be through the established staples of Glenview like the library, or newer cafes and restaurants such as the Glenview Grind, Ēma, Jackman & Co, Bar Trullo, or Hometown Coffee & Juice, the revitalization of Glenview Road honors its past as a destination for food and drink, a tribute to the first taverns and saloons that showed up on it in the late 1830s, Schlarman said.
The new aspects of Glenview give its citizens more resources and activities to enhance their lives, Rebecka Wittenstrom, Science Teacher and long-time Glenview resident, said. Additions make life a little easier and more enjoyable, providing more opportunities to get out and explore, another reason to get off your couch and phone and do something, she added.
Some of these improvements are large, like new train stations, or smaller, like The Grove’s new replacement of outdated HVAC, alarm and filtration systems, improved accessibility for persons with disabilities, and updated exhibit space interpretation center and trails, according to their website.
Wagner Farm has followed suite with their new emphasis on food production, and ongoing projects like the new adventure area for children and improvement to farm fields for productivity, according to the Wagner Farm official website.
The Glenview Public Library’s new lobby cafe, an upgraded kids’ play space, and seven new small study rooms; the continued development of the Glen and natural areas; and the Nov. 5 decision by the Village Board to purchase the 56 acre industrial park across from South to turn into a new, huge public park, are all additional improvements, according to the official websites of each respective organization.
“The revitalization of downtown is awesome,” Wittenstrom said. “Living near downtown Glenview was always disappointing as there weren’t restaurants or festivals, but now there is a new energy and hopefully it’ll continue.”
However, even as new developments spring up, Glenview residents should let the new coexist with the old, rather than fully replace it, junior Phoebe Kimball, Event Staff at Historic Wagner Farm, said. The more people know about the history of Glenview, the more they want to help out, Kimball said. Since working at Wagner Farm, Kimball has noticed that visitors are more likely to be engaged when they know the history behind the land, she added.
“It’s interesting to learn about what has happened here in the past,” Kimball said. “Knowing more about Glenview’s history influences me to want to learn more about the town that I live in.”
Kimball is proof that knowing more about your town’s history influences your daily experience, she said. Working at a historic site has made her want to find out more about her hometown.
“I hope [history continues to be] part of everyday life [through] people wanting to learn more about Glenview,” Kimball said. “I hope that they remember the past and compare it to the future.”
However, simply acknowledging the past in the future isn’t sufficient for all. In its short history, Glenview has already proven that it is important to take the knowledge one learned and apply it to their daily civic life, Schlarman said.
“When you’re a historian, you know that change is inevitable,” Schlarman said. “Glenview is a very young town but it’s changed a lot in that time. It has a long tradition of civic engagement and change is better when citizens work together for the benefit of the community. It’s important to stay involved.”