|
Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 25,411.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Melrose Park village, Illinois )〕 Melrose Park has long been home to a large Italian-American population. The suburb was the home of Kiddieland Amusement Park from 1929 until 2010, and the current home of Maywood Park Racetrack, the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and Stern Pinball, Inc., which is now the world's last manufacturer of coin-operated pinball machines. There is a Metra railroad station in Melrose Park with daily service to Chicago. Melrose Park is home to two hospitals, Westlake Hospital and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. == History == According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, in 1882 residents of a then-unincorporated portion of Proviso Township voted to establish their own municipality—called simply "Melrose" until 1893, when the "Park" was added—and population in the area began to steadily increase. The first Italian-Americans arrived in 1888. On April 19, 1920, the F4 Palm Sunday tornado cut a path over through the village and killed ten people. It destroyed the Sacred Heart Church and attached convent. At the turn of the century, the population surge plateaued and industry began to stagnate; it was only after World War I that the local economy was able to recover, the result of a number of manufacturing companies setting up shop in the village. New industry, coupled with Melrose Park's prime geographic location next to the Proviso freight yards, led to a steady increase in the number of area jobs. This continued after World War II, with still more companies moving to Melrose Park. Zenith Electronics, Alberto-Culver, Jewel, and International Harvester are some examples.〔http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/809.html〕 Many of these companies are still located in Melrose Park and the local industry remains stable, but Zenith no longer exists. During the late 1990s, in an effort to attract more commerce, the village underwent major cosmetic improvements, beginning with the redesigning of all village street signs. The wooded area on both sides of Silver Creek, between Broadway and 17th Avenue along North Avenue, was almost completely excavated, the grass replaced, and wood chips were added along the bases of the remaining trees. Many busy streets were repaved and the athletic field next to the village hall was completely redone. This has helped not only to attract new businesses, but also many first-time home buyers. Melrose Park has been the target of many scandals involving corruption of its public officials. Former police chief Vito Scavo was indicted on federal racketeering charges after a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The athletic field next to the village hall is named after the late Ralph "Babe" Serpico, father of the current mayor, Ronald M. Serpico. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Melrose Park, Illinois」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|