North Shore Views

Archive for the 'Wilmette' Category

Wilmette Junior High Gets a State-of-the-Art Recording Studio

WJHS and the District 39 Educational Foundation will host an open house at 6:15 this Friday evening, February 3^rd to dedicate a new state-of-the art recording studio to be used by students at the Junior High.

Funding for the studio was provided by the District 39 Educational Foundation’s Paul Tilley Music Fund, which was established by Cristina Tilley in memory of her husband. “ The recording studio seemed like the perfect way to honor Paul’s memory, “ said Ms. Tilley.  “He was an exceptionally creative person who loved music.  I wanted to do something that would celebrate music and encourage our kids to express their creativity.”

The Foundation’s grant of approximately $15,000 covered the cost of the engineering console, computer equipment, keyboard, soundproofing and a number of professional microphones designed specifically for individual recording tasks – voice, drums and so on.  The recording software will be “ProTools,” an advanced program that is also used at New Trier High School’s recording studios.

Equipping the studio was done under the guidance of Steve Pont, a professional audio consultant who designs studios for music and advertising professionals. Stan Xidas, a D39 parent, musician and contractor, donated his time and expertise to retrofit an unused office into a studio. Another D39 parent, Tim Scherman, customized a “studio window” that directs the sound waves for optimum sound quality in the room.

The dedication of the recording studio is directly before the annual Youth Connection “Battle of the Bands”, which will be held this Friday at 7:30 pm at the Junior High. The Youth Connection has been an enthusiastic supporter of the studio from its inception and will be taking a leadership role in developing extracurricular uses for the studio.

Tags: Battle of the Bands, District 39 Educational Foundation, Wilmette Junior High School

Wilmette Bicycle and Sport Shop

How is it that an old school retailer like the Wilmette Bicycle and Sports Shop can survive and even thrive in today’s big box world? That was the subject of a Today Show segment this week. Mike Leonard visited with his camera crew and interviewed proprietors Jim, Al and Larry , sons of Jim and John Versino, who founded the shop 80 years ago.

It may be a cramped and crowded throwback to an earlier day, but that doesn’t bother loyal patrons, who come to buy or repair bikes, sharpen their skates and order team uniforms for the local sports teams their children play for. They love the familiarity, personalized service, information and advice that’s freely given by the shop owners and their employees.

You can watch the TV segment here:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tags: shopping in Wilmette, Wilmette Bicycle and Sport Shop

Romona Neighborhood Home Sales – 2011

The most affordable of Wilmette’s neighborhoods, the Romona School neighborhood had the biggest sales increase (+8%) in 2011. It also suffered the biggest decline in home prices, with a median selling price of $350,000 and an average selling price of $420,824 for 2011. Market time jumped in the last year, to 93 days or three months. Four of the homes sold were short sales and one was a foreclosure.

Source: MRED llc – Data for single family homes. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Related articles:

• Harper Neighborhood Home Sales

• McKenzie Neighborhood Home Sales

• East Wilmette (Central School) Neighborhood Home Sales

Tags: North Shore real estate trends, Romona School, Wilmette neighborhoods

Harper Neighborhood Home Sales – 2011

Sales activity in the Harper neighborhood was down in 2011 vs. 2010. There were fewer listings on the market and 22% fewer sales. Those that came on the market, and were well-priced and well-presented, sold quickly, which brought the average market time to 72 days (2.4 months), the shortest market time of any of Wilmette’s neighborhoods.

Harper Neighborhood Home Sales – 2011

Want to know what your Wilmette neighbor’s house sold for? You can see that here. Want to know what your home is worth in today’s market? Give us a call at 847-881-6657 and we’d be glad to provide you with a complimentary, no obligation, home value analysis. Or you can get a free, quick, over-the-net evaluation.

Tags: Harper Elementary School, North Shore market data, North Shore real estate trends

McKenzie Neighborhood Home Sales – 2011

This is second in a series of posts about neighborhood level data for Wilmette. McKenzie neighborhood home sales in 2011 were roughly even with 2010 and 19% higher than 2009. As with Central School, prices declined in 2011, while market time increased by 27% to an average of 89 days or three months.

McKenzie Neighborhood Home Sales – 2011

Source: MRED LLC – Single family homes data. Deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Want to know what your neighbor’s house sold for? You can see that here. Want to know what your home is worth in today’s market? Give us a call at 847-881-6657 and we’d be glad to provide you with a complimentary, no obligation, home value analysis. Or you can get a free, quick, over-the-net evaluation.

Tags: McKenzie School, North Shore real estate trends, Wilmette neighborhoods

Tripping the Light Fantastic in Wilmette

At our house we have gotten a little lax in the Christmas decorating department, and at this point I’m wondering when we’ll even have time to go get the Christmas tree between hockey games and pageant rehearsals. But luckily for us, most of our neighbors take this decorating thing a bit more seriously and we can enjoy their Christmas lights. One neighbor, in particular, puts on a display worth going out of your way to see. It’s grown every year and has gotten so popular that this year they set their lights to music and invited everyone over to munch on cookies and drink hot cocoa while enjoying the show. Even Santa stopped by to hear last minute gift requests from neighborhood kids.

Steve Maris, a self-proclaimed Christmas junkie, has been decorating with lights every year, adding more and more to his collection each Christmas. At this point he has about 30,000 lights on his house and garage, in the trees and all over the yard. In the past year he has spent countless hours programming the lights to blink to the music until he had a two hour long show. It truly is an awesome sight and will put even the most Scrooge-like person in the Christmas spirit. You can get a taste of it here:

Want to check out Steve Maris’ handiwork in person? The show will go on nightly through Christmas at 1200 Cleveland Street in Wilmette, but don’t count on hot cocoa or cookies unless you bring them yourself. And Santa has headed back to the North Pole to prepare for the big night.

Tags: Christmas light shows, holiday decorating

Woman’s Club of Wilmette’s 70th Annual Antiques Show

Can’t bear the thought of giving yet another sweater or scarf this holiday season? Here’s your chance to get something really unique for your loved ones while helping out those in need.

At the Woman’s Club of Wilmette’s 70th Annual Antiques Show and Sale you’ll find everything from furniture to maps, prints, books, linens, vintage jewelry, and more. Dealers returning this year include Ralph Spano Antiques, Neil Zuehlke Antiques, and T.S. Hotter Gallery. New dealers include Silver Acorn (miniature books and vintage jewelry), The Good Stuff (American Indian jewelry), Plain Tales (antique books), Maison Suzanne (textiles and tapestries), and Dovetail Joint Antiques (Americana and furniture).

You’ll also be able to shop for holiday foods and hostess gifts  at the Holiday Boutique.

Do you have damaged glass, china, or porcelain? Bring it to the show for on-site repair by Mary Lou’s Crystal Repair, a show long-term favorite. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antiques, antiques show

Wilmette Neighborhoods: McKenzie Square

McKenzie Square is the neighborhood adjacent to McKenzie Elementary School. I don’t think it’s the official name of the neighborhood. I think it was the invention of some real estate agent somewhere along the line. Anyway, the boundaries of McKenzie Square are Lake Ave. to the north, Wilmette Ave. to the south, Ridge Rd. to the west and 15th St. to the east. This is not the entire McKenzie School footprint. That extends north of Lake, south of Wilmette and as far as Green Bay to the east.

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McKenzie Square is a super-convenient place to live because it’s centrally located in Wilmette and you can easily walk to town, the train, the library and several parks, as well as to McKenzie Elementary and Highcrest Middle School and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

The neighborhood is full of traditional homes shaded by large trees. Highland Avenue and 16th Street are two of Wilmette’s many brick streets, which adds to the charm. Lot sizes are typically 50 x 160 ft. and most houses have 4-5 bedrooms. Architectural styles include Georgian, Four Square and farmhouse (many with front porches), as well as a few bungalows and cape cods sprinkled throughout. Most homes date from the first half of the 20th century, though some smaller old homes have been torn down and replaced with new construction. Unlike nearby Kenilworth Gardens, most houses in McKenzie Square have garages off the alley rather than driveways in front.

Home prices range from $700,000 to $1,200,000, but they can go as high as $1,600,000 for larger new homes.

Currently there are only three homes for sale in McKenzie Square. The smallest has only three bedrooms and is $649,000. The largest is newer construction and is listed at $1,049,000.

If you’d like to see any of these homes, please give me a call at 847-687-5957 or email me. You can also search for Wilmette homes here.

Tags: McKenzie Square, Wilmette neighborhoods

Foreign Films in Wilmette

Last week the Tribune ran a story about Wilmette’s arts and culture scene (“Wilmette: Not Like Other Towns”, by Lauren Viera). The article talked about the diverse programming at the Wilmette Theatre, the “Starlight Theatre” series at the Wallace Bowl, the Wilmette Historical Society and the new Studio North Academy of the Performing Arts.

But there’s another great cultural offering the article didn’t mention, and that is the Foreign Film Club at the Wilmette Library. The club meets monthly and and screens great foreign movies from all over the world. And it’s free! The movie club is the brainchild of fellow Coldwell Banker agent, Daverille Sher.

I interviewed Daverille for the back-story on the club:

Anne: When did you start your movie group and what gave you the idea? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: movies

It’s Pedal Power Time Again!

Last year I wrote about Pedal Power, an annual bike drive started four years ago by (then) 9 year old Nicole Basil of Wilmette.

The goal of Pedal Power is simple: to collect used bikes and scooters and donate them to needy children in the city of Chicago. In the first year Nicole focused her drive in Wilmette and hoped to collect 23-30 bikes. Last year she expanded beyond Wilmette to neighboring North Shore towns and collected 280 bikes.

This year Pedal Power takes place on Saturday, November 5 from 9 am to 12 pm.

If you have used but working bikes or scooters to donate, please bring them to one of three collection points:

• McKenzie Elementary School, 649 Prairie Ave, Wilmette
• George Garner Cyclery, 1111 Waukegan Rd., Northbrook
• Higher Gear, 1874 Sheridan Rd., Highland Park

You can get more information at Nicole’s web site: www.gopedalpower.com

Tags: Pedal Power