Mount Prospect Historical Society

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Breaking News

Century Tile

 
Century Tile was founded on Austin Avenue in Chicago by partners Frank Parks Sr. and Paul Spiewak in 1947 and in recent years (until earlier this year), their children and grandchildren ran the business, with the help of an outside president. Elaine Carlson, who served as vice president/general manager, was one of those family members.
 
As of 2013, Century Tile was one of the 25 largest floor covering retailers in the country, selling out of 12 locations in and around Chicago, including their Mount Prospect location at the intersection of Rand and Mount Prospect Roads. This site was one of last two Century Tile stores to remain open during the months-long liquidation of the 74-year-old family business — which seems fitting since Mount Prospect was one of their oldest locations.

The Mount Prospect Century Tile store closed in mid-2021.

Mount Prospect Village Hall

The current Village Hall is the fourth building to house Village offices.
 
The first designated municipal building was a small structure constructed by Christ Wille in 1923 and attached to the Crowfoot Manufacturing Building along Northwest Highway.
 
The second municipal building was the first free-standing government building, which gave Mount Prospect a more polished professional image. It became the town’s pride and joy for decades. Its doors opened in 1949 on the corner of Northwest Highway and Maple Street.
 
By the mid-1970s, Mount Prospect outgrew the second building and government offices moved into the former Mount Prospect State Bank building on Emerson Street. The Police and Fire Departments remained in the old municipal building until it was demolished in 1991 and replaced by the Public Safety building.
 
The present-day Village Hall was constructed in 2004.
 
First municipal building, attached to the Crowfoot building
Second municipal building in the 1950s
The third municipal building, formerly the Mount Prospect State Bank building, in the late 1990s

Randhurst Twin Ice Arena

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: On Kensington Road at the southeast corner of Randhurst Shopping Center

Is building standing: No

What is at site: Home Depot

When was business founded: Early 1970s

Is business still operating: No

If no, when did it close: Mid 1980s

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Randhurst Twin Ice Arena (located where Home Depot currently stands) opened in the early 1970s as a way to attract shoppers to Randhurst. Originally opened in hopes of encouraging amateur hockey and ice skating programs, it ended up becoming well known for another reason.
 
In 1974, the Chicago Cougars, a hockey team that belonged to the World Hockey Association, used the International Amphitheatre as their home rink. However, the team had such a poor start to the season that the rink owner booked a production of “Peter Pan” and melted the ice, making the location unusable for playoff games. Randhurst Twin Ice Arena came to the rescue, giving the Cougars a place to play their home games during the playoffs. The arena was also used to open the World Hockey Association title round when the amphitheatre booked a wrestling show for the same day. Although the Cougars did not go on to win the series, they played a great season that year.
 
Unfortunately, the Twin Ice Arena did not stay open very long and by the mid-1980s the building was turned into a toy store named Child World.
 
Ticket from the April 28, 1974 Chicago Cougars vs. Toronto Eastern Division Finals game