Plaza del Lago

Plaza del Lago

Plaza del Lago bell-tower
Location	Wilmette, Illinois
Opening date	1928 (as the 'Spanish Court')
Developer	Plato Foufas and Joseph Stefan (1960s redevelopment)
Architect	Henry Gage
Public transit access	Pace bus route #423
Website	www.plazadelago.com

Plaza del Lago is a shopping center at 1515 Sheridan Road in Wilmette, Illinois, United States which opened in 1928 as Spanish Court; it has been reported as the second-oldest shopping center in the United States designed for automobile use, and the first such center in the state of Illinois.

Though the Plaza is in the village of Wilmette today, the tract of land it was built on was originally a part of an undeveloped area known as No Man's Land, a strip of land owned by Henry Gage which, for unclear reasons, was not annexed when the rest of Gage's property was annexed by Wilmette. The area started out as underdeveloped land lined by three gas stations, and Sheridan was unpaved. When Wilmette released "Plan of Wilmette" (the basis of their first zoning code) they had planned to annex the land as a park, but they did not do so; by 1926 they had lost the chance.

The "Roaring 20's" was a time of booming prosperity across the nation. In the 20's an association of North Shore business people invested in a plan to turn primarily vacant land in No Man's Land into an elegant, Spanish-style retail and entertainment complex, named Spanish Court. Plans for this Spanish styled shopping center in No Man's Land were drawn up in 1926 and 1927 by well-known architect Edwin Clarke. Spanish Architecture was the style of the rich and famous during the 1920s. The plan was to build four buildings along the west of Sheridan Road. A drive would cut through the center of the plaza. South of the drive was to be a movie theater, Teatro del Lago, on the north a single story building holding a restaurant and shops. a larger building would be built next door with stores on the first floor, and apartments on the second, with a 50 car garage. At the end of northwest side would be a five story apartment building. The plaza was designed by Edwin H. Clark. The plaza opened in 1928. The arrangement of the shops, apartments, and movie theater all around a parking lot was a new idea at the time.

Amongst the complex's earliest occupants were Spanish Court Pharmacy, Teatro del Lago and Bills Realty (the realty that first marketed Wilmette's Indian Hill Estates Subdivision). The Teatro del Lago movie palace opened in 1927, prior to the opening of the rest of the Spanish Court. When it was opened the theater had an organ to accompany silent films. Its interior was completed handsomely with Spanish-style details and seating for 1,300 people. As teenagers Charles H. Percy, Ann-Margret, and Rock Hudson worked at the theater.