Des Plaines River Trail

Maine Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 135,772 at the 2010 census. The township was founded in 1850. Maine Township is located in Cook County, directly north and east of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Maine Township contains portions of the Chicago suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Glenview, Des Plaines and Rosemont. The township also contains unincorporated sections which mostly use a Des Plaines mailing address. Even though they have a Des Plaines (and in some cases a Niles) mailing address, the addresses follow Chicago's numbering system, where the starting points are State and Madison. Interstate 294, also known as the Tri-State Tollway, passes through Maine Township.

Des Plaines is one of two commuter railroad stations on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line in Des Plaines, Illinois. The station is located at 1501 Miner Street (US 14), and lies 16.7 miles (26.9 km) from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Des Plaines is in zone D. As of 2018, Des Plaines is the 30th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 1,209 weekday boardings.Parking is mostly available along the streets on either side of the tracks. Primarily this includes Miner Street between southeast of Perry Street and west of Des Plaines River Road. Other parking areas exist along Ellinwood Street between Pearson Street and Des Plaines River Road east of the Des Plaines Public Library, a lot on Webford Avenue off of Graceland Avenue (Southbound US 12-45), and on Prairie Avenue east of Pearson Street. As of April 25, 2022, Des Plaines is served by 29 inbound trains and 30 outbound trains on weekdays, by 16 inbound trains and 15 outbound trains on Saturdays, and by nine inbound trains and 10 outbound trains on Sundays. On weekdays, two trains running outbound from Chicago terminate at Des Plaines, followed by two inbound trains originating from Des Plaines.

Des Plaines Public Library is a public library serving the city of Des Plaines, Illinois. It is located at 1501 Ellinwood Street, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

The Des Plaines Mall was a 185,000 square foot (17,200 m2) shopping mall in downtown Des Plaines, Illinois. It was designed by J.R. Gottlieb & Co. The architect was Erickson and Stevens, Inc. Construction began June 1, 1976. It opened October 6, 1977. Planning for the mall began in 1972, with the Des Plaines Mall Corporation formed in 1973. The mall opened October 6, 1977. Its original tennants included Spiegler's, Radio Shack, Hallmark Cards and the Oui Boutique. It was built for about $12 million. Shoppers and employees parked at the nearby Behrel Parking Deck. The intent was to demolish buildings between the mall and the deck, most notably the abonded Spiegler's store, and build a walkway between the two locations. In 1979 the mall added an area on the lower level called Olde Center Street, a turn-of-the-century theme arcade. In 1995 the city took control of the mall with the intent of condemning the mall. Its last day of business was October 31, 1996.

WMTH-FM, located in Park Ridge, Illinois, was among the first FM high school radio stations in the United States when it was licensed in 1959. Established by the Student Council at Maine Township High School, now Maine East High School, the station went on the air during December 1959. The station became known as "The Voice of Maine Township". The radio station was built by electronics teacher, Theron Whitfield, and electronics students in the school. WMTH-FM has studios at all three existing Maine Township High Schools; Maine West High School in Des Plaines and Maine East High School and Maine South High School in Park Ridge. There was also a studio at the former Maine North High School in Des Plaines. The call letters were chosen "MTH" as in Maine Township High (school). The WMTH-FM antenna is located on the highest point of the school building at Dempster and Potter Roads in Park Ridge. The studio from 1959 through 1970 was located in room 147B, across the hall from the auditorium. When the center courtyard building opened in the fall of 1970, the radio station relocated and the first WMTH-TV television studio was built. The original power of the station was 16 watts effective radiated power at a frequency of 88.5 MHz. This continued from 1960 until 1983 when the frequency was changed to 90.5 MHz and the power reduced to 10 watts. This leaves it as one of the lowest powered FM stations in the United States, and one of few remaining under the now-discontinued Class D license. WMTH-TV is another section of WMTH, they broadcast a mixture of music, school sports events, and other programs of local interest. All of the broadcast events are streamed on their respective youtube channels. In addition, all events broadcast are staffed by WMTH Club Members and the broadcasts are in care of their respective instructors.

Maine East High School, or Maine East, and officially Maine Township High School East, is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dempster Street and Potter Road in Park Ridge, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High School District 207, which also includes Maine South High School and Maine West High School. The building itself, constructed in the 1920s, is noted for its distinct Art Deco style.

The McDonald's #1 Store Museum was housed in a replica of the former McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. The company usually refers to this as The Original McDonald's, although it is not the first McDonald's restaurant but the ninth; the first was opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California in 1940, while the oldest McDonald's still in operation is the third one built, in Downey, California, which opened in 1953. However, the Des Plaines restaurant marked the beginning of future CEO Kroc's involvement with the firm. It opened under the aegis of his franchising company McDonald's Systems, Inc., which became McDonald's Corporation after Kroc purchased the McDonald brothers' stake in the firm. The actual restaurant was demolished in 1984, but McDonald's realized it had a history to preserve, so it built a replica. With gold arches placed over a glass and metal, red-and-white tiled exterior, the building largely followed the McDonald brothers' original blueprints, which they had introduced when they began franchising in 1953. A Phoenix, Arizona, restaurant was the first built in this manner. Kroc's restaurant was the first McDonald's built in a colder climate, and some adaptations were made to the design, including a basement and a furnace. McDonald's announced that the building would be torn down as early as the end of 2017 due to repeated flooding of the site. The completed demolition ended in mid 2018. McDonald's then decided to donate the land to the city for a grassy park area.The entrance sign was original, with early cartoon mascot "Speedee," representing the innovative Speedee Service System, inspired by assembly-line production which the McDonald brothers had introduced in 1948. It was, however, moved from its original location at the south end of the property. The sign boasted "We have sold over 1 million." The replica museum offered irregular summer hours and was often closed; tours were by appointment. The ground floor exhibited original fry vats, milkshake Multimixers (which Kroc had been selling when he first encountered the San Bernardino McDonald's restaurant), soda barrels, and grills, all attended to by a crew of male mannequins in 1950s uniforms. Visitors could walk in through the kitchen or look through the order windows in front (there was no sit-down restaurant section in the 1955 design). In the basement was a collection of vintage ads, photos, and a video about McDonald's history. Upon demolition, various equipment was relocated to McDonald's corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago as well as its R&D facility in the southwest Chicago suburbs. In the 1980s, a new, modern McDonald's was built across the street and to the south, replacing a Howard Johnson's restaurant (then Ground Round). At this McDonald's there are a half dozen glass-enclosed exhibits featuring McDonald's historical artifacts arrayed around the eating tables. Included are red and white tiles from the original restaurant and string ties worn by employees from the 1950s to the early 1970s. A blueprint for the original "Speedee" electrical sign appears on one wall. The Big Mac Museum Restaurant, another McDonald's museum, opened on August 23, 2007, in Irwin, Pennsylvania, on Route 30 Lincoln Hwy. A museum also exists at the Original McDonald's site in San Bernardino on U.S. Route 66 in California. It is a reconstruction operated by the owner of the Juan Pollo chain and is not affiliated with McDonald's Corporation.

First Congregational Church is a historic Congregational church at 766 Graceland Avenue in Des Plaines, Illinois. The church's congregation formed in 1869 and built its first church in the early 1870s. As Des Plaines expanded in the 1920s, the congregation outgrew its original church, and it had the current church building constructed in 1929. The firm of Pond & Pond, Martin and Lloyd gave the church an Arts and Crafts design; it is one of the few buildings in Des Plaines designed by a major architecture firm. The church's design includes a brick and limestone exterior with an emphasis on geometric patterns, a gable front entrance flanked by square towers, and an arched window divided by buttresses above the entrance. Its sanctuary houses a stained glass window designed by Edgar Miller which depicts events in the life of Christ.The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 27, 2019.

Dee Road is one of two commuter railroad stations on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line in the city of Park Ridge, Illinois. It is officially located at 881 North Dee Road, and is 15.1 miles (24.3 km) from Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Dee Road is in zone C. As of 2018, Dee Road is the 85th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 594 weekday boardings.Dee Road Station was rebuilt in 2006 as a replacement for the former Dee Road Station on the opposite side of Dee Road, built by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1967. As of April 25, 2022, Dee Road is served by 22 trains in each direction on weekdays, by 16 inbound trains and 15 outbound trains on Saturdays, and by nine inbound trains and 10 outbound trains on Sundays. The smaller parking area between Dee Road and Rowe Avenue, where the old station used to be, was recommended by Metra, as well as parking at nearby Park Ridge. Bus connections are provided by Pace.

The Des Plaines crater or Des Plaines disturbance is recognized as an impact crater in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located beneath the eastern part of the city of Des Plaines, which is a suburb of Chicago.The Des Plaines crater is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) in diameter and covers an area of approximately 25 square miles (65 km2). The age of the crater is unknown but is thought to be between 280 million years and 2 million years (Permian or younger). The crater is buried beneath 75 to 200 feet (23–60 m) of glacial till and can only be seen as a series of faults and deformations in well logs and seismic surveys. Faulting in the structure has produced as much as 600 feet (180 m) of vertical displacement. Subsurface strata of Cambrian through Pennsylvanian age has been faulted and tilted by the event. The anomalous area was first noted by water well drillers in 1893, who noted an absence of water in a 1,600-foot (490 m) deep well. Prior to being recognized as an impact structure, the feature was referred to as a cryptoexplosion structure or cryptovolcanic structure, as were several others in the Midwestern United States. The upfaulted central portion and the presence of shatter cone structures support the impact origin.

Willows Academy is an all-girls private school in Des Plaines, Illinois, United States, with its religious education under the direction of Opus Dei. The school is divided into the Middle School (6-8) and High School (9-12). There are approximately 250 students enrolled in grades 6-12, with about 25 students per middle school class and 40 students per high school class. The original school was located on Vernon Avenue in Glencoe, IL. The second location was in Niles, IL. The school is a member of the Illinois High School Association and the Independent Schools' League. The Academy was named one of the best 50 Catholic secondary schools in the nation in 2008 and is on the 2008 Catholic High School Honor Roll.

Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the Des Plaines River, which runs through the city just east of its downtown area.