No Man's Land, Illinois was never an official place name, but has been used to refer to at least two areas that fit the broader meaning of

No man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

Wilmette

Most commonly, the term was used to refer to a small

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

north of Chicago on Sheridan Road, along the shore of

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. It was bordered by the exclusive North Shore suburbs of

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

, on the south and west, and by

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

on the north. Undeveloped for nearly a century after the first settlement of the area, no neighboring municipality wanted to

annex Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...

it, and it became a haven for shady activities. In the 1920s, a developer envisioned and began construction of a planned club and beach hotel complex to be called "Vista Del Lago" (Spanish for "Lakeview"). The club was actually built, in a

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

architectural style, on the west side of

Sheridan Road Sheridan Road is a major north-south street that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest ...

, but the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

prevented completion of the hotel. In 1928, one of the earlier automobile-oriented shopping centers, Spanish Court, opened adjacent to the club. The lack of development on the east side of the road, coupled with the club's location in a relatively lawless unincorporated area, led to a state legislator in the 1930s terming No Man's Land "a slot machine and keno sin center where college students were being debauched with beer, hard liquor and firecrackers." In 1942, after decades of disputed ownership and legal wrangling, the area was annexed by the village of Wilmette. The club burned down shortly thereafter. The area is now the home of the

Plaza del Lago Plaza del Lago is a Shopping mall, shopping center at 1515 Sheridan Road in Wilmette, Illinois, United States, which opened in 1928 as Spanish Court. It has been reported as the second-oldest shopping center in the United States designed for automo ...

shopping center on the west side of Sheridan Road and a small number of anomalous high-rise residential buildings east of Sheridan. Prior to the redevelopment of the area in the 60's, such establishments as firework stores, hot dog stands, ice cream shops, car dealerships, and service stations had earned the area nicknames of '

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

of the North Shore' and 'honkey-tonk town of the North Shore'.

Natives

Actor

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

was born in the Wilmette-adjacent No Man's Land while his family was living in the area.

Rogers Park

The term, according to one author, was used prior to the expansion of Evanston and Chicago to refer to what is now the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

neighborhood of Chicago. It is also identified by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

as being a variant name of the Howard District, located at .

References

{{authority control 1920s establishments in Illinois Former populated places in Illinois Populated places established in the 1920s Wilmette, Illinois

Wilmette

Natives

Rogers Park

See also

References