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Mount Prospect Development in the 1950’s
The decade of the 1950’s was a time of exponential growth for the town of Mount Prospect. The population jumped from 4,009 in 1950 to 18,906 in 1960, an increase of over 470%. There were over forty residential sub developments started in the 1950’s. These developments were being built on the outer edges of Mount Prospect causing the town to grow outwardly from the original Eggleston Triangle or downtown. Some of the building was expansions of previously constructed subdivisions such as, Council Trails, Ellendale, and Pleasant Heights, each of which grew in this time.
Important developers of the time included Frank Serafine, Arthur McIntosh & Company who developed Northwest Meadows, and Schaville & Knuth who developed Sunset Heights. Women also played an important role in the development of Mount Prospect, with Joan Ruth developing Wa-Pella Gardens, Judith Ann Serafine developing the Garden subdivision, and Ethel Busse developing a subdivision with her own name.
This massive growth led to many changes within the town. People who had no neighbors one day were surrounded by them the next. Many could now live in the suburbs and commute to the city on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. The growth of a new modern infrastructure also helped the commuters. The Edens Expressway was finished in 1951 and the Northwest Tollway was finished in 1960. Mount Prospect became an option for people who wanted to work closer to home with the opening of O’Hare International Airport in 1959. The increase in citizens also led to an increase demand for government services. Six schools were constructed in Mount Prospect during the 1950’s, a new larger library was built in 1950, a park district was created in 1955, and Randhurst Shopping Center and Mount Prospect Plaza were both under construction before the decade came to an end. This development and growth would carry Mount Prospect and its citizens through the 1960’s.