Melrose Park, Illinois
| Melrose Park, Illinois | |
| Village | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Cook |
| Township | Proviso |
| Elevation | 630 ft (192 m) |
| Coordinates | 41°54′28″N 87°51′52″W / 41.90778°N 87.86444°WCoordinates: 41°54′28″N 87°51′52″W / 41.90778°N 87.86444°W |
| Area | 4.24 sq mi (11 km2) |
| - land | 4.24 sq mi (11 km2) |
| - water | 0.00 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Population | 25,411 (2010) |
| Density | 5,993.2/sq mi (2,314/km2) |
| Founded | Incorporated |
| Date | September 11, 1882 |
| Mayor | Ronald M. Serpico |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 60160, 60161, 60162 |
| Area code | 708 |
 Location in Cook County and the state of Illinois.
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.svg) Location of Illinois in the United States
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Website: melrosepark |
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Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago,14 miles by road. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 25,411. 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 (it closed in September 2009 before it was demolished), 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.
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 328-foot-wide (100 m) path over 1,094 yards (1,000 m) 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. Many of these companies are still located in Melrose Park and the local industry remains stable, but neither Alberto-Culver (shuttered its doors in 2013) nor Zenith exist.
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Wikipedia