Hinsdale

On the northern side of the railroad tracks from historic downtown Hinsdale is the neighborhood of North Hinsdale, about 20 miles west of downtown Chicago. “You can divide the north part of Hinsdale into two sections: The western part by Monroe Elementary and the eastern by The Lane Elementary,” says J. Maggio, a broker with J. Maggio Group with almost 20 years of experience. He has also lived in the neighborhood for about six years. “The homes in the western part will have larger lots, while the eastern part is denser with some newer construction happening.” Queen Anne, colonial and Tudor revivals are some of the classic architectures found in the neighborhood. “To prevent some of the older homes from being torn down for newer ones, there’s an incentive program that will give homeowners tax freezes or expedited permits to update their property,” Maggio says. R. Harold Zook was a famed suburban Chicago architect who did much of his work in Hinsdale, where he had a home and studio. He is known for developing Tudor and Georgian design houses and more modern styles on ones built in the 1930s and ‘40s. His influence continues to be seen in new construction. “You can see it in the stone construction with the newer homes. You won’t see sticks and bricks,” he adds. The price range runs from $750,000 to $4 million. Community Consolidated School District 181 is the A-rated Niche district that serves Hinsdale. With a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio, The Lane Elementary School is one of the elementary schools that kids in this neighborhood can attend. It’s also A-plus rated on Niche. Clarendon Hills Middle School is rated an A overall and is the home to the Summer Learning Program, which takes place for a few weeks in June and is open to all students in the district. The classes include math, language arts and world language. Hinsdale Central High School has a 94% graduation rate. It is rated an A-plus, receiving those grades in the categories of academics, teachers, college prep and the amount of clubs and activities. The Hinsdale Farmers Market occurs on Chicago Avenue between Garfield and Washington Streets near Burlington Park from June through October. The weekly market attracts vendors with fresh produce and unique finds. Instead of the typical weekend for farmers markets, the one in Hinsdale is on Monday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The butcher shop is alive and well at Prime ‘n’ Tender Meats, family owned and located on York Road since 1985, specializing in oven-ready items and carrying beef, poultry, veal and various deli products. Whether pancakes for breakfast or sandwiches and wraps for lunch, Garden Berry Café is open until 3 p.m. daily, just a few steps from the butcher shop. There are three opportunities to get on the Metra commuter train in Hinsdale. West Hinsdale is located near Kingery Highway, the Hinsdale station is close to the downtown area, and the site for the Hinsdale Farmers Market and the Highlands station is close to the UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hospital and Interstate 294. It takes 40 minutes to get to Union Station in downtown Chicago from the Hinsdale stop. The main hospital is close to the tracks on Oak Street, and a cancer institute facility and other medical facilities are off Ogden Avenue near I-294. Burlington Park is named after the Burlington Northern train tracks it’s situated near. The park hosts a weekly summer concert series on Thursdays in June, July and August. It’s part of what the park calls Uniquely Thursdays, with food trucks, beer, and wine. When there’s no special event, there’s plenty of green space, walking paths and numerous benches and picnic tables. The park’s centerpiece is a fountain, which is a popular gathering place. Burns Field Park has tennis and basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields and paddleball courts. A rink is available for ice skating, but the temperatures need to be below freezing for up to six consecutive days to be safe to skate. Peirce Park has several baseball fields, batting cages, a playground, and a concession stand open during baseball games.

Great schools, classic architecture, and various community events make South Hinsdale one of the most unique neighborhoods in the Chicago area. It’s also ideally situated to get around the area. “When you talk about Hinsdale as a whole, it’s equidistant from Midway and O’Hare International Airports, and it’s just a 22-minute train ride to downtown Chicago if you take the express Metra train,” says Tracy Anderson, a real estate broker at Compass with nearly 20 years of experience. Throughout much of Hinsdale, including the area south of the railroad tracks, many older homes that date to the late 1800s have been renovated. “The homes in the eastern end of the neighborhood between County Line Road and Garfield Street, you’re more likely to find homes on bigger lots over more than an acre,” Anderson says. Architecturally, the homes are Queen Anne, Georgian, Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival. Some newer construction also holds to older styles to keep the look consistent. Home prices range from a two-bedroom condo at around $300,000 with a $300 monthly fee to a six-bedroom French eclectic estate priced at almost $7 million. There are still some opportunities to get homes with six figures. The average living space in the neighborhood is over 5,000 square feet, and 89% of the people living here are homeowners. Public school students in South Hinsdale are part of the Community Consolidated School District 181, rated an A overall on Niche. One of the elementary schools in the neighborhood is Madison Elementary, a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School, recognizing overall academic excellence and closing achievement gaps among student groups. The school also gets an A grade on Niche. Hinsdale Middle School also receives an A overall grade and has a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1. Hinsdale Central High School is part of the Hinsdale Township High School District 86. The school is rated an A-plus on Niche and has a 92% graduation rate. For over 80 years, various community events have happened at The Community House on 8th Street. It’s home to Stage Door Fine Arts, the resident theater company, which puts on periodic shows throughout the year and has for about 15 years. The productions for 2024 include Seussical the Musical, Heathers and Tarzan. “They even have a satirical show for adults that looks at current topics, like artificial intelligence,” Anderson says. They also offer theater classes through The Community House. Other programs at the facility include programs for kids, such as sports camps and after-school activities. Adults can benefit from exercise classes and pickleball. The Community House is next to one of two large parks in South Hinsdale. Robbins Park is behind Madison Elementary School and has a football and soccer field, two tennis courts and a playground. A small parking lot is at the corner of 7th and Vine Streets. Katherine Legge Memorial Park is named after the wife of Alexander Legge, who served as president of International Harvester and lived in Hinsdale. The park has a disc golf course, a dog park and two picnic shelters. The late architect who designed many homes in Hinsdale, R. Harold Zook, has his home and studio in the park. The Katerine Legge Memorial Lodge is available to rent for hosting large events. Jewel-Osco and Whole Foods, located on Kingery Highway, are the closest major grocery stores. From June through October, downtown Hinsdale is the location of the weekly farmers market held on Monday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. by Burlington Park on the north side of the railroad tracks. South Hinsdale is mainly residential, but downtown Hinsdale has several eat-out options, including Vistro Prime, a casual steak house. Egg Harbor Café is a breakfast and lunch restaurant that started small and regional in 1984, run by a couple who met while attending Northwestern University. They now have opened over 20 locations. Many sidewalks are along the neighborhood streets in South Hinsdale. Those in the northern part of the neighborhood could walk from home to one of three Metra commuter rail stops in Hinsdale. If not taking the express Metra train into downtown Chicago, a ride with all the stops will take about 40 minutes. If traveling by car, going north or south on the Tri-State Tollway can lead to anywhere around Chicago.

The Metra commuter rail tracks go through the middle of downtown, allowing people who don’t live in Hinsdale to see quaint downtown shops to the south and a busy city park and village offices to the north. Also, outside those train windows are beautifully kept homes, some as old as the late 1800s, on streets with mature trees. The picture of suburbia that people see makes it easy to forget that Hinsdale is close to a busy interstate and only 20 miles west of downtown Chicago. South of the Metra tracks, old-fashioned streetlights, awnings on businesses, and diagonal street parking are all part of downtown Hinsdale and are an instant throwback to what downtown retail shopping was like before the malls took over. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. “It’s a three-block radius of older buildings that have been modernized, but the old-time charm is still there,” says Tracy Anderson, a real estate broker at Compass with nearly 20 years of experience. “Starbucks may be the only big chain downtown. Everything else is a locally owned business.” Burdi Clothing is a formal men’s wear store with an Italian influence in business for over 50 years. Razny Jewelers is family-owned and specializes in Rolex watches and other fine jewelry. Café La Fortuna roasts their coffee beans each morning. They also serve Mexican hot chocolate and breakfast paninis. North of the tracks, the Hinsdale Memorial Building is a towering brick Colonial Revival that was built in 1927. It’s located on Chicago Avenue and sits on a slight incline overlooking the downtown area to the south. The eastern part of the building houses the village offices of Hinsdale, while the northwest addition to the building is the Hinsdale Library. The Memorial Building was designated as a Historic Landmark in 2001. During the warm weather months, Burlington Park is a center of activity a couple of days a week. From June through mid-October, the Hinsdale Farmers Market sets up Mondays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Chicago Avenue between Garfield and Washington Streets between the Memorial Building and the park. From mid-June through August, Uniquely Thursdays take place in Burlington Park from 6-9 p.m. with live music, food vendors and fun activities for the whole family. “There’s also a Fourth of July parade that goes through downtown. It’s a great slice of Americana,” Anderson says. The parade route starts south of downtown on Garfield Street and goes north into downtown and south again on Grant Street. Surrounding the unique shops of downtown Hinsdale are the historic houses. Most range from $700,000 to $1.5 million, but some are priced closer to $5 million, especially east of the downtown area where the lots are bigger. Classic and modern farmhouses from the late 19th century to the early 20th, Tudor-influenced, and Colonial Revival. One of the more unique modern homes is the Hidden Manor on Park Avenue. It’s a French Eclectic house built in 2008 by two local architects. The house has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms and is valued at around $3.5 million. Even homes built in the late 20th century call back to classic Colonial Revival and Queen Anne architecture. Oak Elementary School has been part of the Hinsdale Community since 1953. The school receives an A on Niche and has almost 400 students through grade five. Clarendon Hills Middle School has a Parent Teacher Organization that orchestrates various fundraisers, including a couple of book fairs during the school year and, during the spring, invites up to ten pizza vendors for a night of pizza tasting. It’s an event called Pizza Wars. The school has an overall A grade on Niche. The elementary and middle schools are in the Community Consolidated School District 181, while Hinsdale Central High School is in the Hinsdale Township High School District Number 86. The school is rated an A-plus and has an on-site radio station where students can develop broadcasting, engineering and producing skills. No public transportation bus lines go through Hinsdale, but the Metra commuter train has three stops in the village. The express line to Union Station in downtown Chicago takes about 20 minutes. A ride with the regular stops will take about 40 minutes: Interstate 294, also known as the Tri-State Tollway, skirts along the eastern part of the neighborhood.