Archives for July 2012

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: Rand and Central

Is building standing: Yes

When was business founded: 1961

Is business still operating: Yes

Interesting stories, facts, history:

While strip malls are rarely of much historic interest, the Mount Prospect Plaza has more to say than one might imagine. When the Plaza was built, there were very few shopping plazas in America. When the Plaza was started, it was a pioneering concept. In the long run, strip malls have dramatically changed the landscapes in America, particularly in suburban communities. Strip malls are based on people driving to one location, which is at the outskirts of town and is isolated from the rest of the community. This is a very different concept of shopping than the small town days of the 1950s. Earlier in Mount Prospect’s history, there were small community owned businesses in the downtown area, which was a mixed use neighborhood with offices, store fronts, and houses within close proximity. The heydays of downtown Mount Prospect came to an end in 1962 with the opening of Randhurst and the Mount Prospect Plaza. These locations brought in larger national chain stores and were based entirely on an automobile culture. Ample parking was a necessity, but a pedestrian scale or an attractive street front was not.

Mount Prospect Plaza opened in mid-March in 1961. The grand opening, however, was a bit rocky. Construction delays prevented some of the stores from opening on time, and the parking lot pavement wasn’t finished. Despite these challenges, the completed stores and the Mount Prospect Plaza Merchants Association celebrated the occasion with numerous giveaways, including a weekend for two in Las Vegas and a complete family Easter wardrobe. The rest of the stores opened in the following weeks.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 330 E. Northwest Highway

Is building standing:

What is at site:

When was business founded: 1923

Is business still operating:

If no, when did it close:

Who owned business: Founded by George L. Bussee

Interesting stories, facts, history:

The Mount Prospect Development Association was founded in 1923 by George Busse, his brothers and several friends to start developing the community. Since the original sub-development by Ezra Eggleston in 1874, there had only been one major development in Mount Prospect, which was the 1905 Busse-Wille Re-Subdivision of the original Eggleston triangle. George Busse saw an opportunity and formed the Development Association. The first major project that they undertook was the subdivision of what was left of Owen Rooney’s farm, which became known as Busse’s Eastern Addition. This doubled the size of Mount Prospect. The association went on with a series of other development projects as the community continued to develop. It was well positioned as Mount Prospect’s population began to grow rapidly in the late 1920s. From the 1920s until 1950 the population of Mount Prospect grew by an average of 120 residents a year, which is impressive when you consider that Mount Prospect’s population was 349 in 1920. In 1937 the Mount Prospect Development Association was renamed George L. Busse Real Estate, Inc. for its founder.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 302 E. Northwest Highway

Is building standing: No, demolished in 1986

What is at site: ?

When was business founded: 1910

Is business still operating: No.

Who owned business: Edward Busse

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Founded in 1910 by Edward Busse, the Mount Prospect Creamery quickly became a major distributor of milk, cheese and butter. This was not the first creamery in Mount Prospect. William Wille had run a much smaller creamery at the end of the nineteenth century, but he closed it in 1902. In the years after Wille closed his creamery, Mount Prospect became one of the largest producers of dairy products in northern Illinois. The farmers with dairy cows had to ship their milk into the city on the Chicago Northwestern trains each day and pay a charge on each can they shipped in. When a creamery opened in Mount Prospect it was cheaper to sell it locally. The Mount Prospect Creamery grew quickly and was soon shipping bottled milk, butter and cheese all around the Chicago area. They employed thirteen drivers who delivered the bottled milk around the northwestern communities and into Chicago, advertised as “Milk Bottled in the Country.”