From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Historically, the North Shore referred to the area serviced by the now defunct Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, which ran along Lake Michigan's western shore between Chicago and Milwaukee from 1896 until 1963. Today it refers to the suburbs north of Chicago along the lakefront. Now, as then, the area includes many of the most affluent communities in the Midwest and in the United States. This area received much exposure in the 1980s as the setting of many teen movies, particularly those of writer/director John Hughes.

A few inland suburbs — e.g., Skokie, Glenview, Deerfield, Northfield and Northbrook—also are considered by some to be part of the North Shore because of their contiguity and affluence. These suburbs are also home to various regional shopping destinations, including Westfield Old Orchard, the Glen Town Center and Northbrook Court shopping malls. However, most locals insist that the North Shore comprises only the older suburbs (fully or substantially developed before World War II and certainly prior to the 1963 demise of the North Shore rail line) directly adjacent to the lake, not the younger (mostly developed after World War II), inland suburbs.

The North Shore is noteworthy for being one of the few remaining agglomerations of streetcar suburbs in the United States.

The North Shore is also the home of the Ravinia Festival, a world-class outdoor music theater. The Green Bay Trail, an award-winning pedestrian and bicycle path, begins in Wilmette and runs north just to the east of the Chicago Botanic Garden and past the front gate of Ravinia Festival park all the way up to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, alongside Metra's Union Pacific North Line railroad tracks.

Many credit Walter S. Gurnee as the father of the North Shore

The North Shore was settled by caucasians after the signing of an 1833 treaty with local Native Americans. Thanks to Walter S. Gurnee, a two-term mayor of Chicago, the region began to flourish. He had made numerous investments along the western shore of Lake Michigan and was very influential in the area. With the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad he helped to create commuter train service to Chicago. This service let people move out of the city and into the surrounding area. While trains ran from Chicago all the way to Milwaukee, the term "North Shore" typically refers only to the communities between Waukegan (or perhaps Zion) and Chicago.

This area became popular with the affluent wanting to escape the undesirable parts of urban life, and the area grew just before and especially in the years just after World War II. Huge mansions were built in the area, although not all of the houses in the area are lavish. The largest North Shore suburb is Evanston, which is also closest to Chicago. Evanston is the home of Northwestern University.

Today the North Shore remains one of the most affluent areas in the United States: seven of its communities are in the top quintile of U.S. household income, and three of those (Kenilworth, Winnetka and Glencoe) are in the top 5 percent. From Evanston to Lake Bluff, only Highwood falls below the national median.

• Winthrop Harbor
• Zion
• Waukegan
• North Chicago
• Lake Bluff
• Lake Forest
• Highwood
• Highland Park
• Glencoe
• Winnetka
• Kenilworth
• Wilmette
• Evanston

• Illinois Beach State Park
• Zion Nuclear Power Station
• Abbott Laboratories
• Great Lakes Naval Training Center
• Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
• Lake Forest College
• Fort Sheridan
• Ravinia Festival, Highland Park
• Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe
• Bahá'í Temple, Wilmette
• Grosse Point Light, Evanston
• Northwestern University, Evanston

• The Breakfast Club
• Cheaper by the Dozen
• Derailed
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Home Alone
• Mean Girls
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• Ordinary People
• Risky Business
• Shattered Glass
• She's Having a Baby
• Sixteen Candles
• Surviving Christmas
• Uncle Buck
• The Weather Man
• Weird Science

• Ebner, Michael H. Creating Chicago’s North Shore. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988.