July’s edition of Your Hometown spotlights Brookfield and Riverside.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad led to a construction boom to what was once farmland a distance from the city. This rail line contributed to the development of both villages.

Brookfield was originally called “Grossdale” and is home to Brookfield Zoo. Riverside was the first planned community in the country, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1869.

Take a tour of both villages through our photo gallery.  Photos by Mike Piff; captions by Sara Tieman.

Brookfield:

  • Welcome to Brookfield
  • Brookfield’s water tower with the leaping dolphins for the village’s biggest attraction: Brookfield Zoo.
  • Brookfield was originally named “Grossdale” after the village’s founder, Samuel E. Gross. The Grossdale Train Station, pictured here, was the first building constructed in 1889. It is now the location of the Brookfield Historical Society and on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Jon Hansen and Brookfield resident Wendy Snyder with Dr. Michael Adkesson, president and CEO of the Chicagoland Zoological Society and director of Brookfield Zoo.
  • The 235-acre Brookfield Zoo (1st Ave. and 31st St.) is on Cook County forest preserve land that was partly donated by Edith Rockefeller McCormick in 1919.
  • More than 2,400 animals representing over 400 species live at Brookfield Zoo.
  • Brookfield Zoo has operated since 1934.
  • In 1905, villagers changed their town’s name from “Grossdale” to “Brookfield” after Salt Creek that runs through the area.
  • The paved and unpaved Salt Creek Trail System runs along the Des Plaines River, Salt Creek, and Brookfield Zoo.
  • Salt Creek in Brookfield.
  • Brookfield Woods is one place to get out and about in the village. Prior the 1800s, Brookfield was prairie, forest and farm.
  • Kiwanis Park, home to an old Oak Savanna
  • The Brookfield Oak Savanna. Once they ranged from Minnesota to Louisiana. Now they’re one of the rarest habitats on earth and less than 1% remain.
  • A walk in Kiwanis Park through the Oak Savanna
  • The Oak Savanna in Brookfield’s Kiwanis Park is a bird habitat.
  • Eight Corners in Brookfield
  • Progress Park, located at Broadway/Washington at Eight Corners
  • Brookfield’s Progress Park
  • Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library (3541 Park Ave.) opened in 2021 at a cost of $11 million.
  • Pollinator garden, developed by the library and Chicago Zoological society.
  • Bison sculpture in the pollinator garden, which is a partnership between the Brookfield Library and Chicago Zoological Society.
  • Nature garden across from the library.
  • Find Galloping Ghost Arcade, the world’s largest, in Brookfield at 9415 Ogden Ave.
  • Galloping Ghost has over 885 arcade games you can play 365 days a year.
  • Family-owned Tischler Finer Foods (9118 Broadway Ave.).
  • Tischler Finer Foods has been a part of the Brookfield community since the 1980s.
  • “More smiles in every aisle!” at Tischler Finer Foods.
  • Long ago closed, but the sign remains. Cock Robin was a chain of restaurants that served steak burgers and “One in a Million” shakes.
  • Brookfield Little League

Riverside:

  • Welcome to Riverside.
  • Riverside was established in 1869 and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
  • Much of Riverside was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.
  • The Riverside Water Tower was one of the first buildings constructed in Riverside in 1869. It was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in Swiss Gothic style. It has become a symbol of Riverside.
  • The current tower was rebuilt in 1913 following a fire.
  • The Riverside Historical Museum is located in the East Well House adjacent to the water tower.
  • The Riverside Water Tower was designated an American Water Landmark in 1972 by the American Waterworks Association.
  • Riverside, the country’s first planned community” and nicknamed the “village in the forest”
  • Mural by renown Dutch artist Collin van der Sluijs in progress at Riverside Arts Center.. The design of the mural reflects Riverside’s importance as a flyway for migratory birds.
  • Riverside Arts Center (32 E Quincy St.)
  • Riverside Town Hall (27 Riverside Rd.)
  • Avery Coonley House, or Coonley House, in Riverside.
  • The Coonley House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, built 1908-1912.
  • The Coonley House is a National Historic Landmark.
  • Historic trail marker
  • Boulder marks the spot of an old river crossing used by indigenous peoples.
  • Riverside Public Library, opened in 1931 (1 Burling Rd.)
  • F.F. Tomek House, also known as The Ship House, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (built 1904-1905) in the Prairie style. The house served as a model for the Robie House in Hyde Park.
  • The F.F. Tomek House is a National Historic Landmark.
  • Higgins Glass Studio (33 E Quincy St.) was founded in 1948 and makes handcrafted glass at their on-site studio.
  • Sips & Sweets Cafe, 1 Riverside Drive, located in the Arcade Building, a national landmark.
  • Riverside Foods (48 E. Burlington St.) is a locally-owned supermarket serving the community since 1981.
  • Mural of the Riverside Water Tower
  • Riverside Metra station
  • Sawmilly Sandwich Shoppe (35 E. Burlington Street)