Editing Wilmette, Illinois (section)

====Postwar growth====
The postwar need for housing, combined with government-guaranteed loans and the availability of former farmland west of Ridge Road, led to a housing boom in the 1950s that utterly transformed the area west of Ridge Road from farmland to residential subdivisions. Tracts of ranch-style and bi-level houses, distinctive street layouts, and new schools, places of worship, and shopping centers quickly characterized much of west Wilmette, particularly west of Hunter Road.  Builders reflected the country's optimistic postwar mood with upbeat names for their housing styles, like "Young Modern" and "Skylark" and idyllic-sounding subdivision names like "Hollywood in Wilmette" and "Sprucewood Village".  As a direct result of this housing boom, Wilmette's population grew from 18,162 in 1950 to 28,268 a decade later.<ref name=images/><ref name=bushnell/>

Construction began on the [[Interstate 94 in Illinois|Edens Expressway]] in the late 1940s, and it opened in 1951. [[Carson's|Carson Pirie Scott]] opened [[Edens Plaza]] shopping center next to the new expressway in 1956.<ref name=bushnell/>

Wilmette saw a growth in youth sports during this period. The boy's youth Wilmette Baseball Association was founded in 1951.<ref name=images/> In 1953 the village opened Roemer Park, a [[Little League Baseball and Softball|Little League]] baseball park with features such as a concession stand and scoreboard.<ref name=images/> By 1962 the Wilmette Baseball Association had more than 900 youth players (including [[Bill Murray]]) and 52 teams.<ref name=images/>

Also in 1951, Wilmette Public Library built a new facility, replacing the facility that had been built in 1905.<ref name=wilmettelibrarytimeline/>

The North Shore Line ceased its service in Wilmette in 1955.<ref name=nsl1950>{{cite web |url=http://northshoreline.com/1950-end.html |title=1950-End |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=www.northshoreline.com |access-date=June 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312145624/http://northshoreline.com/1950-end.html |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1968 the Curtis Curling Center, a state-of-the-art [[curling]] facility, opened in Wilmette. Its construction was funded by a $400,000 donation from Darwin Curtis, a millionaire from the neighboring town of [[Winnetka, Illinois|Winnetka]]<ref name=images/><ref name=bushnell/><ref name=curtisclose>{{cite web |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1980/08/07/page/97/article/wilmettes-curling-center-just-a-shattered-dream |title=Wilmette's curling center--just a shattered dream |last=Enstad |first=Robert |date=August 6, 2017 |website=archives.chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201040323/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=wilmettecurlingclub>{{cite web |url=http://www.wilmettecurling.org/v2r1/r2index.shtml |title=Welcome to Wilmette Curling Club |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=www.wilmettecurling.org |publisher=Wilmette Curling Club |access-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708184859/http://www.wilmettecurling.org/v2r1/r2index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=bighit>{{cite web |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1968/03/24/page/367/article/wilmette-curling-is-a-big-hit |title=Wilmette Curling Center Is a Big Hit |last=Casady |first=John |date=March 24, 1968 |website=archives.chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201040319/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a $39,000 grant from the Wilmette Memorial Trust.<ref name=bighit/>

Between 1962 and 1968 the area that was once No Man's Land saw massive redevelopment. Several high-rise apartment towers and town homes were built, and the Spanish Court shopping center was renovated and renamed Plaza del Lago.<ref name="shea"/>