Most vibrant suburban downtowns (Aurora, Naperville: theater, colleges, live in)

[nana053]

Originally Posted by edsg25

10 blocks in from the lakefront would put you well past DT Evanston and pretty much on the other side of Ridge.

Yeah, it is closer to 5 blocks, but I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by edsg25

I find Evanston to be much more a real downtown, fitting a real city in the sense that Naperville is not.

I love Evanston, but still find it's downtown to be a bit disappointing. It's strangely fragmented, with not enough destinations on the main drag on Sherman. It seems like I am always LEAVING Sherman by a block or two to go to any restaurant, the movie theater, or Bennisons. And it seems like there is a lot of dead space between various hubs of activity. The interaction with the rail hub at Davis should be a huge benefit, but everything is squeezed together awkwardly where the railroad comes in at an angle to the street grid.

Downtown Naperville feels sterile to some because they have really put a lot of money in to streetscaping, developing the River Walk, etc. We are so not used to this sort of public investment in America that it takes on a surreal "theme park" feel, and the newness of it only adds to that. The stores and buildings are mostly older, but the sidewalks, pavers, benches, streetlamps, etc. are mostly new. But downtown Naperville is laid out better than downtown Evanston, and is more walkable and compact.

Now, Evanston is large enough and vibrant enough that it has a couple of other shopping districts that rival the downtowns of smaller suburbs, like Main Street and Central Street.

[westburbsil]

Some great points by all, no right or wrong. Yes, did forget Oak Park! My mistake. The north shore burbs downtowns I really did not include because they are very small/quaint and would not consider them "vibrant." Now they are absolutely beautiful as the entire northshore area is.

In regards to Naperville, I never got that feeling. I know the Promendae area where the Hugos and Catch 35 area is brand new, but the hilly lay out(for IL standards, Jefferson street, riverwalk, etc. really makes it one of its own. Something will probably be done to the Barnes n Noble if they go the way of Borders and I could see a whole foods or something to the like.
To me, the whole Disney field is The Glen in Glenview or in Santa Monica, CA I believe it is 3rd street promenade. I live in Geneva and love the feel of the downtown, but in my opinion Naperville is very hard to beat for a Chicago suburban downtown when you include a body of water and trails(river walk), high end and bar restaurants, nightlife, shopping, desert/ice cream, children's museum, metra(easy to get to), local small college in North Central.

[pvande55]

I would add Aurora, with casino, scitech museum and riverfront. Park Ridge and Mt Prospect not too bad.

[ChicagoMeO]

Also, downtown Winnetka, especially at Christmas time. Also LongGrove. Schaumburg. LaGrange. and how about Joliet?

[divakat]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I love Evanston, but still find it's downtown to be a bit disappointing. It's strangely fragmented, with not enough destinations on the main drag on Sherman. It seems like I am always LEAVING Sherman by a block or two to go to any restaurant, the movie theater, or Bennisons. And it seems like there is a lot of dead space between various hubs of activity. The interaction with the rail hub at Davis should be a huge benefit, but everything is squeezed together awkwardly where the railroad comes in at an angle to the street grid.

Downtown Naperville feels sterile to some because they have really put a lot of money in to streetscaping, developing the River Walk, etc. We are so not used to this sort of public investment in America that it takes on a surreal "theme park" feel, and the newness of it only adds to that. The stores and buildings are mostly older, but the sidewalks, pavers, benches, streetlamps, etc. are mostly new. But downtown Naperville is laid out better than downtown Evanston, and is more walkable and compact.

Now, Evanston is large enough and vibrant enough that it has a couple of other shopping districts that rival the downtowns of smaller suburbs, like Main Street and Central Street.

I agree with this. Naperville pours a lot of money into its downtown area and we are just not used to that kind of investment in this country, unfortunately. We just discovered CentennialBeach last year, and it is an amazing place. We found out from my husband's mother that it has been around since at least the 50's but they just totally redid it last year and it is beautiful. Another plus is that Naperville has completely free parking to encourage people visiting---what do ya know, it works. The Water Street Project was just approved and will begin construction soon, which will put a crown jewel on the entire area. The only less than positive thing for me, is that Naperville is trending towards becoming a uniformly wealthy area, especially due to the tear down phenomenon.

[JJski]

Would you guys say elmhurst is a more vibrant downtown than oak park?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by JJski

Would you guys say elmhurst is a more vibrant downtown than oak park?

Oak Park sort of has three downtowns, including the original DTOP (Downtown Oak Park) at Harlem and Lake, the area at Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street (can't remember it's branded name), and Madison Street in Forest Park, which frankly is probably used more by people in Oak Park than by people in Forest Park (52,000 people vs. 12,000 people). Elmhurst is a bit more centralized in terms of shops/restaurants, but Lake Street in Oak Park is just such a hub of activity the entire length of the city, with OPRF high school, large churches, multiple transit stops, etc. So there is a lot of vibrancy just due to multiple uses that don't necessarily revolve around the shops and restaurants. I give Oak Park a slight edge in that respect, since Elmhurst's downtown seems to revolve around weekends and rush periods more than Oak Park's. But then Elmhurst College brings people...

[ProgMichael]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

Also, downtown Winnetka, especially at Christmas time. Also LongGrove. Schaumburg. LaGrange. and how about Joliet?

Where would you consider downtown Schaumburg?

[noid_1985]

The one's that I like the most

On a larger scale:
Naperville
Oak Park
Elmhurst
LaGrange
Downers Grove

On a smaller scale more traditional
Hinsdale
Glenn Ellyn
Riverside
Clarendon Hills