Mount Prospect, Illinois
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Mount Prospect, part of Elk Grove Township, is a village located in Cook County, Illinois about 22 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The area that would become the first 160 acres (650,000 m²) of the future village was purchased in 1848 as farmland by Friedrich Busse. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, many people began to move from the city to this area, which includes the towns of Arlington Heights, Illinois and Park Ridge, Illinois. When Mount Prospect finally reached the requisite population of 300 with the birth of Norman Pohlman, it officially incorporated in 1917. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 56,265.
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Trivia
The "Bluesmobile" in the 1981 Blues Brothers movie was made up to be an old Mount Prospect police car. Dan Aykroyd later said that he used the village's police department because he heard that in the early days, "they were a tough group that did not take any attitude from folks from the big city."
In 1962, Randhurst Mall was built, which was the largest enclosed air conditioned space in America at the time. It included a bomb shelter which was designed to hold the entire population of Mount Prospect.
Geography
Mount Prospect is located at 42°3'56" North, 87°56'10" West (42.065427, -87.936217)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 26.5 km² (10.2 mi²). 26.4 km² (10.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.39% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 56,265 people, 21,585 households, and 15,152 families residing in the village. The population density is 2,127.7/km² (5,513.1/mi²). There are 21,952 housing units at an average density of 830.1/km² (2,151.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 80.58% White, 1.82% African American, 0.20% Native American, 11.18% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. 11.77% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 21,585 households out of which 30.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% are married couples living together, 7.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% are non-families. 25.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.60 and the average family size is 3.14.
In the village the population is spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $57,165, and the median income for a family is $67,262. Males have a median income of $44,585 versus $32,218 for females. The per capita income for the village is $26,464. 4.6% of the population and 3.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.2% of those under the age of 18 and 3.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
Maps
Government
- Village of Mount Prospect - official government website (http://www.mountprospect.org/)
- Mount Prospect Public Library (http://www.mppl.org/)
Miscellaneous
- "Encyclopedia of Chicago" Entry (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/849.html)
- Randhurst Mall (http://www.randhurstmall.com/)