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Forest Park, Illinois

1907 establishments in IllinoisChicago metropolitan areaForest Park, IllinoisMajority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, IllinoisPopulated places established in 1907
Villages in Cook County, IllinoisVillages in Illinois
Madison Street, Forest Park
Madison Street, Forest Park

Forest Park (formerly Harlem) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, United States. The population was 14,339 at the 2020 census. The Forest Park terminal on the CTA Blue Line is the line's western terminus, located on the Eisenhower Expressway at Des Plaines Avenue. This makes it one of only two municipalities served by the Chicago "L" train network that does not directly border Chicago (the other being Wilmette).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Forest Park, Illinois (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Forest Park, Illinois
Eisenhower Expressway, Proviso Township

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
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Wikipedia: Forest Park, IllinoisContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.873055555556 ° E -87.811111111111 °
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Address

Milton F. Eggerding

Eisenhower Expressway
60130 Proviso Township
Illinois, United States
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Madison Street, Forest Park
Madison Street, Forest Park
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Nearby Places

Harlem Race Track
Harlem Race Track

The Harlem Race Track, managed by the Harlem Jockey Club, was a horse racing track located in the Village of Harlem, Illinois (currently Forest Park, Illinois) between Collier Avenue (currently 16th Street) and 12th St. (currently Roosevelt Road), and between W. 74th (currently Hannah Avenue) and W 76th (currently Lathrop Avenue).The track was built by a syndicate led by George Hankins in 1894, and it was scheduled to open for the 1895 horse racing season. Because there was a public outcry against all gambling, the track did not open as scheduled, and it lay dormant at great expense to the investors. On July 3, 1897, the track was sold by the Chicago Fair Grounds Association, by President William Martin, to attorney William H. Allen for $150,000. Allen leased the 80 acre property to James Anglin who appointed John Condon general manager, and Martin Nathanson as secretary. The lease eventually went to Condon, but he decided to discontinue his association with the track when his lease expired on February 1, 1899. Despite Condon's retirement, it was speculated that he remained in control of Harlem, and the course secretary, Martin Nathanson, announced that the 1899 racing program would begin on May 30. A fire at the track on May 22, 1899, believed to be caused by "incendiaries," destroyed the grandstand and fencing. A temporary grandstand was quickly built so that racing season could still open on time, and construction of a new permanent grandstand of steel and stone was planned.In early May 1900 John Condon appears to have gained complete control of the Harlem race track, despite his earlier announcement of his retirement from the business. This enabled Condon to become sole owner of the track by purchasing it outright from lawyer P. J. Ryan for $180,000. The lightning from an intense rainstorm killed a horse in the stables at the track, knocked the stable boy attending the horse unconscious for an hour, and also shocked Condon and track official William Miers.From 1899 to 1904 the Lake Street Elevated Railroad offered express excursion service to the track via the Cuyler Avenue Shuttle.As of 2021, the area which the horsetrack was on is now occupied by the Chicago Bulk Mail Center and the eastern part of the Forest Park Plaza.