Wilmette, Illinois 2025

Wilmette is a village located in New Trier and Evanston townships in Cook County, Illinois and is a north suburb of Chicago. As of 2020, the population was 27,245.

There are several prominent cultural attractions in Wilmette. The Wilmette Public Library serves as a cultural and educational hub for both the village and surrounding communities. It is located in a 78,000-square-foot building and has a diverse inventory of volumes, programs and services. The former library building, constructed in 1907, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and now serves as a cultural center. The Village of Wilmette and the Wilmette Public Library are also home to a variety of cultural, educational, and entertainment programs with offerings at the library including author readings, book clubs, story times, computer classes, children's activities and various other programming.

The Wilmette Theatre, a landmark building erected in 1927, has been functioning as a popular multi-screen movie house. In 2006, a group of local citizens banded together to renovate the theatre and convert it into a state-of-the-art venue for live productions, film and cultural events. The Wilmette Theatre is currently home to the Light Opera Works, a professional theatre company that showcases popular operettas, operas and musicals. In keeping with the village's French heritage, the village also hosts a large French Market, held every Saturday from May through October on the Village Hall Green. In the summer, the village hosts outdoor concerts at the gazebo in the village's Central Park.

Celebrating 125 years of community, culture, and civic pride. Since 1890, Wilmette has been proud to have a rich history of civic pride. Throughout the year, the Village of Wilmette will celebrate its 125th birthday with a variety of special events including a community picnic, bike and walking tours, historical presentations, a commemorative tree planting, and other activities that highlights the Village's history, community, and culture.

It is a 30-minute drive up Lake Shore Drive from Chicago and many residents regularly travel to the city for work. However, this village has its own distinct culture and feel. While it began as a French missionary outpost in 1670, it slowly transformed into a wealthy lake shore community, with the housing stock to match that history. Some homes are glorious French country mansions, while others reflect a more modern take on French country living like a mini-castle. Houses like these are scattered around the village of Wilmette, from the lakefront to its inland forests.

The community is close-knit and family-oriented, with lots of youth programs, parks and activities for kids. In fact, there's a good chance your kids could be learning how to skate or play soccer with the future US Olympic team. Wilmette is part of New Trier Township, which sends more Olympic athletes to the summer games than any other high school in the United States.

Many people move to Wilmette for its schools, which consistently rank among the top 10 in Illinois. The village also provides classes for adults, from computer skills to painting and leisure classes.

Wilmette may be a small community, but it has a big impact on the culinary scene. There are nine restaurants and eateries at the crossing of the town's major streets; three more than neighboring Evanston. If you can't find the perfect meal here, you won't find it anywhere.

Additionally, the community comes together for annual festivals such as downtown Wilmette's Halloween Walk, held on Halloween, and the French Market, which runs from May through October. The village also puts on summer outdoor concerts at the village's Central Park Gazebo.

The village participates in energy-efficient programs like Energy Star and green power purchases. It also promotes residential incentives to increase energy efficiency, holds electronics recycling annually, and has instituted a number of purple bag programs for recycling.

Over the past 10 years, major retail corridors in Wilmette have seen little change. Almost all of the village's retail businesses are small and independent. In the downtown area, new stores come and go but there always remains a handful of small clothing shops, antique stores, gift boutiques, and the locally owned Bookstore, which sponsors author readings and other activities. The village president has also focused on keeping and attracting new businesses to the community. The village began Wilmette's first mixed-use development and has renovated/restored the old 6111 building, which brought a new hotel to downtown Wilmette. The village president also reduced building permit fees in half to respond to the slowing construction pace.

In 1925, Wilmette had a population of 3,800. Yet, unlike other North Shore communities, Wilmette has managed to preserve many of its original homes. Development pressure in the 1920s and 1930s brought pressure to split up large estates and build smaller homes. Still, a surprising amount of open land remained. In the 1950s and 1960s, pressure increased as developers sought to level trees to build homes, this time with a goal of affordability, to ensure young families moving in, could also send their kids to quality schools. By the 1970s and 1980s, preservationists began to win battles to save architecturally and historically significant structures. In the 1990s and 2000s, advocacy turned toward saving open space and parks. While there have been some notable losses - the 1956 demolition of a 1916 Tudor revival mansion, for example - Wilmette has done a commendable job in preserving the best of its past.

The village of Wilmette lies just west of Evanston and is a convenient suburb that enjoys both its proximity to Chicago and its lakeside landscape. With a relaxed atmosphere, beautiful parks, and housing options ranging from country estates to modern condos, it's a great alternative for those looking to leave the city.