Businesses of Mount Prospect

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 real estate loans and other services. It was originally 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 disturbed by a botched robbery attempt, which ended with a shoot out in the road.

William Busse, the most influential person in the development of our community, founded the bank and used it as the financial backbone of his developments. Many of the homes that we 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.