ELMHURST

One of the oldest suburban communities in the Chicago area, Elmhurst is located approximately 17 miles from the city. The history of the community can be seen at the historic Glos Mansion built in 1892 by the first village president, Henry Glos. Many of the original appointments on the house are still visible, including the tile entry hall, parquet floors and stained glass windows installed by Henry and Lucy Glos.

The Elmhurst Historical Museum Archives include photographs of many houses and streets, city directories and telephone books, maps, biographical information, church and cemetery records and more.

Unique among suburban communities is the Elmhurst Art Museum, a museum with a strong connection to regional artists through the Elmhurst Artist’s Guild and an educational relationship with the Elmhurst Park District. 

The Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1960, is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, which presents an annual subscription series of concert programs featuring prominent soloists and major symphonic works. The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art houses one of the largest collections of Chinese jade carvings in the country featuring several internationally famous pieces. Exhibits include animal dioramas, mineral specimens and world famous diamonds.

The Elmhurst Park District maintains 430 acres of parks. Facilities include the Abbey Leisure Center for older adults, sport and fitness center Courts Plus and the Elmhurst Great Western Prairie, a strip of preserved prairie land along the Illinois Prairie Path, the Sugar Creek Golf Course and the Wilder Park Conservatory.

Consistently ranked in the top tier of Midwestern liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report, Elmhurst College offers 50 programs of study in 22 departments to more than 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students. Elmhurst Memorial Hospital has more than 470 beds and 500 physicians on staff.

Consolidated School District 205 provides education for most of the children of Elmhurst, except those children living in the area west of Salt Creek and an area south of Butterfield Road, west of Euclid. District 205 operated 10 elementary schools, three junior high schools and one senior high school. Elementary School District 48 provides education for children living in the area west of Salt Creek and the area south of Butterfield Road, west of Euclid. District 48 operates Salt Creek School on Riverside Drive in Elmhurst. Elementary School District 45 provides education for children living in the area west of Route 83 known as Pick Subdivision. District 45 operates North School at 150 Sunset Drive in Villa Park, as well as Jefferson Junior High School at 255 West Vermont in Villa Park. High School District 88 operates Willowbrook High School and provides high school education for those students attending district 45 and 48 elementary schools.

Elmhurst is located on the Metra Commuter Rail Line and is adjacent to Interstate 290. The village’s location along this expressway allows access into Chicago via Interstate 290 and out to Aurora via Interstate 88, to Wisconsin via Interstate 294 (the Tri-State Expressway) and access to Interstate 55 (the Stevenson Expressway).