Elgin is the 8th largest city in Illinois with over 106,000 residents and is one of the oldest incorporated municipalities in the Fox Valley. Elgin was once a prosperous commercial center. Downtown Elgin once consisted of several department stores (such as Sears and J.C. Penny), about a dozen movie theaters, such as the Crocker, Rialto, Orpheum, Grove, and more. Elgin was THEE place to be in the early to mid 20th century. But the good times didn't last; after the demolition of the watch factory in 1966, downtown Elgin started to die...ever since the opening of Spring Hill Mall, downtown Elgin has been nearly lifeless.
Did You Know:
· The Elgin National Watch Company was the largest manufacturing complex in the world and produced over 60 million watches between 1864 and 1966.
· The first street sweeper was invented here in 1914.
· The first steel roller coaster was built here in 1909.
· During the Civil War, this was the dairy capital of the United States.
· Elgin is 172 years old.
· Five US presidents have visited Elgin: Ulysses Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy, and George Bush Sr.
· Ten movies/TV series’ have been partially filmed here: Grace Under Fire (1993), American Son In Law (1982), Car Thief (1986), Coach of the Year (1980), Death and Taxis (2004), Four Friends..aka Georgia’s Friends (1981), Hoffa (1992), Magnum Stories (2006), The Skull of Pain (1997), Two Rivers (1999), and The 2nd Line (currently filming).
· The Tower Building, Elgin’s tallest building, was the tallest building between Chicago and Rockford when it was completed in 1929.
· Pa from the book “Little House on the Prairie†lived in a cabin west of Elgin in the 1840’s.
· Elgin is the largest northern suburb.
· Some of the first automobiles were manufactured here.
· The name “Elgin†came from a Scottish hymn.
· The oldest building in Elgin dates from 1839, and is possibly the oldest existing structure in northern Illinois.
· A tornado ripped through Elgin on Palm Sunday in 1920 and killed 7 people.
· Besides Chicago, more books have been written about Elgin than any other city in Illinois.
City of Elgin in 1912
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