The city has an extraordinary sense of history and historic preservation. Many architectural styles, both commercial and residential, were invented and first used in Chicago, and the city goes out of its way to preserve them. The former Navy Pier on Lake Michigan has been restored into a popular entertainment complex.
The waterfront Soldier Field was recently remodeled at great expense rather than replaced by a larger stadium with modern amenities. In short: The city is a living museum and monument to American urban history. Chicago is also a city of neighborhoods. North side, west side, south side—each provides a set of neighborhoods to suit any taste and mostly any budget. Along the lake and to the north are wealthier areas and the community of Evanston, home of Northwestern University. Areas become more typically middle class but still with variety to the northwest, west, and southwest.
Like many large cities, Chicago has its sprawl and growth issues, and suburbs have overtaken many older farm communities and towns like Elgin and Aurora, and there is little in the way of geography to restrain the push. Joliet is an older industrial and transportation hub on the southwest side. The rest of the area map is a patchwork quilt of suburbs, one after the other, defined by rectangular grid arteries sliced through by radii mainly along rail commuter routes emanating from the city.
The more popular suburbs typically lie towards the northwest. Some have pushed far out into old farmland, like Cary, Algonquin, Geneva and the more upscale Lake Zurich, while other quality neighborhoods lie closer in, like Elk Grove Village and Schaumberg.
Good neighborhoods also lie to the south and southwest side, although contrasts are stronger between the livable and more run down areas; Hinsdale and Orland Park are more upscale picks on the southwest side.
In Chicago, location relative to major transportation routes is most important. Many endure hour-long commutes into the city and around its crowded beltways. The city has an excellent urban and suburban transportation network with an assortment of rail and bus services; nonetheless, traffic along arteries and beltways can be intense. Chicago offers numerous amenities. Museums, notably The Art Institute of Chicago, and the performing arts are top quality. Sports are legendary—whether the teams win or lose—and Wrigley Field is another of those American urban icons.
Few cities have more or better restaurants. Plus, the area has some of the best higher education in the country, and quality education is available at all levels in most neighborhoods.
The lakeside location, facing into the teeth of the storm track, and continental climate from the northwest produce cold, snow, wind, storms, humid heat, and weather changes invigorating for some but intolerable for others. Cost of living varies by neighborhood and lifestyle, but is accelerating after years as a relative bargain for a big city. The violent crime is still a problem in some neighborhoods.
There are still some grubby, rundown areas that would make some people think twice. These facts hurt the statistical appraisal of Chicago. Chicago is located on a level coastal plain generally less than feet above the lake.
Most land is open and almost completely flat with occasional areas of deciduous woods. The climate is continental with frequently changing weather and is invigorating to say the least. That said, winter wind-chill factors can reach extreme proportions. New occupants faced an insufficient well system, and their cars were often stuck in muddy driveways.
Young families predominated. In Woodland Heights School opened with six classrooms to accommodate two hundred children. When this quickly became insufficient for the burgeoning population, four hundred children took classes in split shifts, and mothers who marched in front of the school to discourage buyers were arrested for disorderly conduct.
The town's continued success was doubtful. Streamwood Shopping Center, built in , was condemned because of extensive water damage resulting from its construction on unstable ground. It took years to fix the problems and for the center to reopen. Despite this problematic start, population surged to 18, by The village, which had incorporated in , grew in size to nearly six square miles. Industries located on the southeast side.
Builders parceled off their acreage and donated land for schools, a village hall, and a pool. In addition to these direct routes of transportation, Streamwood is adjacent to a number of major state and county highways. These roads provide access to the entire northwest suburban region. Illinois Route 59 is on the western edge of the Village. A major thoroughfare for the northern and western suburbs, Route 59 is a direct link to both I to the north, and I to the south.
Lake Street Route 20 is located on the southern edge of the Village. Route 20 is the anticipated western leg of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway.
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