About 25 miles west of downtown Chicago, Downers Grove is part of the city’s sprawling suburban expanse, anchored by a downtown village center with a commuter train station, and partly bounded by two interstate highways. Established in the mid-1800s, the village of approximately 50,000 people features the country’s first 18-hole golf course and an old-fashioned theater palace with a dazzling Wurlitzer pipe organ. In addition to the historic venues, Downers Grove boasts numerous downtown events and festivals that bring neighbors together throughout the year. “That adds to the community feel of Downers Grove,” says Maureen Flavin, a broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, who has lived therein the village since 1997. “My kids don’t like going to the grocery store with me because I will run into somebody I know. That’s the neighborly vibe that Downers Grove has.” Though many commute to work in Chicago, Downers Grove is also home to headquarters for Advocate Aurora Health, manufacturing conglomerate Dover Corporation and chemical distributor Univar Solutions. Other major employers in the community include Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, State Farm and Invesco.
Downtown Downers Grove has numerous shopping and dining options.
There are delicious samples at the Downtown Downers Grove Farmers Market.
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Tree lighting ceremonies and painted skeletons on storefront windows
The Downtown Downers Grove Market is a weekly Saturday morning tradition from May to October. With more than 60 vendors selling locally grown produce, craft goods and art, proceeds from the sales benefit programming and services at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove. Around Halloween, kids can paint skeletons, ghouls and witches on downtown storefront windows as part of holiday programming sponsored by the Downers Grove Rotary Club and the Downtown Downers Grove Management Corporation. The day after Thanksgiving, the community gathers for a tree lighting ceremony at the Downers Grove Main Street Train Station. As it gets colder after the winter holidays, the village displays ice sculptures at the station during the Ice Festival in early February.
Open since 1928, the Tivoli Theatre in downtown Downers Grove also has an attached hotel, a bowling alley and storefronts. Before weekend evening showings, a short performance on the pipe organ emerges from beneath the stage. “There is a full-service bar, so you can have a drink while watching the movie," Flavin says. "The theatre provides a great opportunity for summer jobs for high school kids.”
Locals look for necklaces at the Downtown Downers Grove Farmers Market.
The Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove was built in 1928, and designed by Van Gurten architects.
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Shopping mall couture at Yorktown Center, plus village taverns and highway retail
Downtown Downers Grove features plenty of restaurants, taverns, hobby shops and locally owned businesses contributing to a small, close-knit community vibe. The area also has several retail corridors along its arterial roadways. Ogden Avenue/US Route 34 is one of the main shopping areas, flanked by car dealerships, fast-food eateries, supermarkets like Jewel-Osco and Trader Joe’s and strip malls with small shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Additional shopping centers with national retailers such as Kohl’s, Harbor Freight Tools, Walmart and Target are along 63rd and 75th Streets. North of the village in neighboring Lombard, many still visit the Yorktown Center. Formerly the country’s largest indoor mall when it opened in 1968, Yorktown remains a popular shopping destination for many of Downers Grove’s residents, according to Flavin. The mall is less than a mile from the northern part of Downers Grove and has nearly 200 businesses in addition to an 18-screen movie theater and the various hotels, restaurants and large-format retail stores surrounding its parking lot.
The Yorktown Shopping Center provides Downers Grove Gardens residents with shopping options.
Target is one of the many options Downers Grove Gardens residents can choose for groceries.
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Middle school expansion in Downers Grove
Currently, elementary-aged students attend one of 11 schools through sixth grade and one of two middle schools for grades 7 and 8. The schools comprise Downers Grove Grade School District 58, which gets an overall B-plus on Niche. The two middle schools are renovating and expanding to accommodate sixth graders by the 2025-26 school year. Renovations are also happening at several aging elementary schools in the district. Downers Grove North and South High Schools comprise Community High School District 99. Both schools are rated an A. The district gets an A-plus. Both schools have around a 95% average graduation rate. “If parents opt for private school, there are a variety of faith-based schools in the village,” Flavin says. Midwestern University is a private medical school with about 2,800 students on a 105-acre campus.
Downers Grove North High School is a top-rated public school located in Downers Grove, IL.
Henry Puffer Elementary School in Belmont received an A-minus rating from Niche.
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Housing blossomed from downtown Downers Grove
The growth in Downers Grove started from the downtown area and the railroad tracks and spread in all directions. Some older houses around the downtown area mixed in with newer styles after aging ones were torn down. Most of the area’s housing stock is comprised of single-family homes, but there are plenty of townhouse developments and condos in the downtown area and along the edges of the community, close to the interstates and more heavily trafficked roadways. Housing in Downer’s Grove is a little more expensive than the national average with a median home price of $450,000.
A couple of historic houses of worship are close to the downtown area. The First Baptist Church’s current building dates to 1872, and St. Joseph Catholic Church opened in 1909. More houses of worship within the village serve other denominations.
Large traditional homes can be found in Downers Grove Gardens.
For the residents of Downers Grove who don't want to worry about a yard, condos are available.
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Three Metra stops in Downers Grove
From the Downers Grove Main Street Metra station, the trip into downtown Chicago takes about an hour, but there are also express trains during rush hour that shave some time off. Fairview Avenue and Belmont Road are the other commuter rail stations. The Pace bus service is available on major roads like Main Street and Ogden Avenue. Interstate 88 to the north can connect with Interstate 355 to reach more western and southwest Chicago suburbs and Interstate 294, the tri-state tollway.
Over 600 acres in the Downers Grove Park District
The Downers Grove Park District, which manages over 600 acres of outdoor space, offers many opportunities to enjoy its parks. Fishel Park is in downtown Downers Grove and has the Veterans Memorial Pavilion, which is the site for the summer concert series. McCollum Park is a 50-acre complex with athletic fields, courts and an 18-hole miniature golf course. In the winter, the park is home to an ice skating rink. At Lyman Woods, there are 150 acres to mingle with wildlife and observe hundreds of species of native plants. Hidden Lake Forest Preserve is run by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and consists of nearly 400 acres of fishing opportunities with two lakes.
Golfers will enjoy teeing off at Belmont Golf Club, the first course in the United States to feature 18 holes when it expanded a year after opening in 1892. For those who prefer working out indoors, the Downers Grove Recreation Center is in the northern part of the village, while the Indian Boundary YMCA is on 59th Street in the southern part.
Belmont residents frequent the local Belmont Golf Club.
Music lovers of all ages enjoy the Summer Concert Series in Downers Grove's Fishel Park.
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Things to know
According to the CAP index, Downers Grove's crime score is 4, at the national average. In 2021, the Downers Grove Police Department implemented a Community Response Team, which responds to concerns and emerging crime patterns reported by neighborhoods. The team consists of a sergeant and three officers.
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