Businesses of Mount Prospect

Does MPHS have photographs: Misc. Images

Address: Somewhere in Chicago

Is building standing:

What is at site:

When was business founded:

Is business still operating:

If no, when did it close:

Who owned business:

Interesting stories, facts, history:

H. Roy Berry Company was one of the largest developers in Mount Prospect. The Chicago based company was responsible for some of the largest developments in Mount Prospect. In 1924 H. Roy Berry Company purchased the 74 acre Burke farm, which was subdivided and named Colonial Manor. The company also purchased the 164 acre Russel farm and the 83 acre Katz farm that was subdivided into Castle Heights. The company generally did not build houses in the community. They subdivided the land, platted the streets, installed the basic utilities and then sold the property. Some of the homes in these subdivisions were built by the individual home owners and others were constructed by other developers who purchased blocks of home sites and built homes on them for sale to the public. One of the most important things that H. Roy Berry Company did for Mount Prospect was the construction of the first sewer mains in the village. These were put into the Colonial Manor Subdivision and soon after Mount Prospect took out a contract to build the sewer and water lines for the rest of the village. The H. Roy Berry Company worked extensively with the village leaders in a number of different civic improvements. In the September, 1927 issue of Real Estate News H. Roy Berry, the president of H. Roy Berry Company, is quoted as saying:

“Another thing which drew us to Mount Prospect was the co-operation which we received from the officials of this suburb. They are progressive and active and are quite willing to co-operate with us in everything that will help not only our properties but the village as a whole. We have had no trouble in Mount Prospect in securing sewer and water improvements as well as street paving. Mount Prospect, by the way, has the right to point with pride to the splendid paving they are installing. Instead of using all different forms of non descript paving material they have adopted concrete as the one and only material to be used on every street in this suburb.”

See also our extensive essays on Randhurst

Does MPHS have photographs: Around 2,000 of them

Address: Rand and Elmhurst

Is building standing: Yes

What is at site: Randhurst Shopping Mall

When was business founded: Opened in 1962

Is business still operating: Yes

Who owned business: Originally, Randhurst Corporation

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Randhurst Shopping Mall was an incredible project in its time. Built on top of one of the last farms in Mount Prospect, construction started in 1958 and opened to the public in 1962. The mall was originally constructed by the Carson Pirie Scott Company, who purchased the land through the George L. Busse Realty Company. At the time Randhurst opened, it was the largest shopping center under one roof in America and possibly the largest shopping center in the world. People traveled miles to see the first modern shopping mall. In the first month of business there were over one million shoppers in Randhurst. Those who lived in Mount Prospect at the time remember the mall being so crowded that you could barely walk.

In the late 1960s and 1970s the Randhurst Corporation began hosting special events, such as fashion shows, children’s fairs, and educational programs. In both 1976 and 1977 the mall hosted a full three ring circus. The mall also brought in a number of celebrities such as Robert F. Kennedy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferigno, and cast members from the “Planet of the Apes.”

As other malls opened in the area the attraction to Randhurst declined. In the 1980s the mall went through a multi million dollar renovation adding, among other things, an upper level food court. In the 1990s the mall has brought in a number of free standing businesses around the perimeter of the building, such as Home Depot.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 1706 E. Kensington

Is building standing: Yes

What is at site: Photo’s Hot Dogs

When was business founded: October 30, 1989

Is business still operating: No, the Mount Prospect location closed in 2019

Who owned business: Jim Photopoulos

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Jim Photopoulos got the nickname “Photo” when he was a high school student in Buffalo Grove and it stuck. Photo started working in restaurants when he was ten years old. His family ran The Round Table in Libertyville, The Forum in Arlington Heights and Artemis and Sunrise Pancake House in Mount Prospect. When he finished college he worked managing the Artemis Restaurant while looking for a spot to start his own restaurant. In 1989 he found a spot near the Kensington Business center and set things in motion. After opening the store he started a major promotional campaign, brining fliers and free hot dogs and shakes over to the receptionists at Kensington trying to drum up business. This worked and he soon had a lunch rush, sometimes serving over 300 people in an hour. He has used his successful business to give back to the community as well, offering many different clubs and organizations free food or discounts. He received both the Sam Walton Business Leader of the Year award from Wal-Mart and the Business Leader of the Year Award from the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce.

If you ordered delivery from Photo’s Hot Dogs in the 1990s, chances are your food was brought to you in this vehicle. Jim Photopoulos, the owner of Photo’s Hot Dogs, used a retired 26-year-old ambulance as his delivery truck. It was dubbed the “Photomobile.” In the early 2000s, the ambulance was replaced with a VW Bug.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

When was business founded: 1898

Is business still operating: Is now the Daily Herald

Who owned business: Hosea C. Paddock

Interesting stories, facts, history:

Hosea Paddock began a newspaper in the developing communities surrounding Chicago. Over the years his company has been able to become the most trusted source for information in the suburbs and has successfully compete against the large Chicago papers. Paddock’s personal goals for the paper were to: “Fear God, Tell the Truth, and Make Money.” His company has continued with these goals and has survived for over a century. In this time, it has increased its popularity by reflecting the views of the readers. Paddock Publications has weathered two World Wars, the Great Depression, the dot com revolution, a fire in the offices, and a gun wielding irate reader.

Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 1 E. Busse, 2 W. Busse, 100 S. Emerson, 111 E. Busse

Is building standing: 3 of 4 are

What is at site: BankOne Building

When was business founded: 1911

Is business still operating: It has merged with other banks

Who owned business: Started by William Busse

Interesting stories, facts, history:

The Mount Prospect State Bank was one of the most influential businesses in the development of Mount Prospect. The bank was formed in 1911, originally as a national bank. It became a state bank in the 1920s because of a need for more flexibility in realestate loans and other services. It was originallly located in a small building on the corner of Emerson and Main, where a small parking lot is today. In its first year of operation, this small unincorporated town was distrurbed by a bothched robbery attempt, which ended with a shoot out in the road.

William Busse, the most influential person in the development of your community, founded the bank and used it as the financial backbone of his developments. Many of the homes that you live in today may have been financed by this business. The Mount Prospect State Bank started out in the tiny corner building and continued to serve the community from this modest location through WWI. Then, in 1928 at the height of the boom of the 1920s, the bank moved to a larger building a block north at 2 W. Busse. This building was originally the home of Busse Buick, another business started by William Busse. In this location the bank weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s and was one of very few financial institutions to go through the depression with uninterrupted service. During this time many banks went out of business. In 1933, shortly after his inauguration, President F. D. Roosevelt ordered all banks in America to close and work out their books. The Mount Prospect State Bank closed its doors for the first time. However, it was one of the first Banks in Illinois to reopen in a time when only about ten percent of the areas banks ever reopened.

The bank then worked through the second World War. Following W.W.II, Mount Prospect went into its largest building boom ever and the State bank was here to finance it. Between 1950 and 1960 Mount Prospect’ s population grew almost 500%. In 1967 the Mount Prospect State Bank moved again. They built the building that is now the Mount Prospect Village Hall. They continued to lend money and act as the community’s largest saving bank through the suburbanization of the 1960s. In 1975 they moved again to the tallest building in Mount Prospect, the bank building on Busse Ave between Emerson and Maple.

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.”