Editing Wilmette, Illinois (section)

====Village Centennial and National Bicentennial====
The village marked the 1972 centenary of its incorporation with festivities on the lawn of Village Hall.<ref name=images/> The Curtis Curling Center hosted that year's [[United States Men's Curling Championship]].<ref name=teamusachampionships>{{cite web| url=http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Curling/Events/Championships-microsite/Inside-the-Championships/National-Championship-Events/2017-National-Championships/National-Championships/Champions--and-Awards/Men| title=Men's Championships| author=<!--Not stated-->| website=www.teamusa.org| access-date=February 18, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825212557/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Curling/Events/Championships-microsite/Inside-the-Championships/National-Championship-Events/2017-National-Championships/National-Championships/Champions--and-Awards/Men| archive-date=August 25, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1972/03/07/page/44/article/illinois-wins-pair-in-curling |title=Illinois Wins Pair in Curling |last=Husar |first=John |date=March 7, 1972 |website=archives.chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=June 12, 2017 |quote=the National Curling Championship at Wilmette's Curtis Curling Center |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201040356/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1973 Wilmette adopted a new comprehensive plan (which had been developed between the years 1967 and 1971). In 1974 the village adopted a new zoning ordinance designed to adhere to the vision of the comprehensive plan.<ref name=bushnell/>

Centennial Park, named in honor of the village's centenary, was opened that year.<ref name=parkdistrict/> The Park District had begun buying the land for Centennial Park in 1967, but did not finish buying the last parcels until 1972.<ref name=parkdistrict/> In 1971 the Park District proposed building a sports complex at this site.<ref name=parkdistrict/> Previous plans to construct a sports complex (featuring a swimming pool, children's park, bath house/warming house, natural ice rink, and a toboggan hill) on the site of the Community Playfield were blocked afters voters narrowly opposed it in a 1968 referendum.<ref name=parkdistrict/> However, the Park District was successful in its proposal for a sports complex at Centennial Park, which was approved by voters as part of a $1.78 million parks renovation plan in a February 1971 referendum.<ref name=parkdistrict/> The sports complex was completed in 1972 with a public swimming pool and indoor tennis complex.<ref name=bushnell/><ref name=parkdistrict/> In 1974, following lobbying from local ice skating and ice hockey enthusiasts, the Park District broke ground on an expansion project that added an indoor ice complex and additional tennis courts to the sports complex. Centennial Ice Center opened to local ice enthusiasts the following year.<ref name=bushnell/>

A portion of the land that the Park District acquired for Centennial Park was a farm belonging to Michael Loutsch, the last working farm in the village.<ref name=images/><ref name=bushnell/><ref name=parkdistrict/> A compromise was reached in 1968 where the Park District allowed Loutsch to continue operating his farm until his death, at which point the village would assume control of the land. Centennial Park was therefore developed around his farm.<ref name=bushnell/> Per their agreement, the Park District assumed control over the land after Loutsch's death in 1978.<ref name=bushnell/> Thus, over one hundred years after its incorporation, Wilmette completed its transformation from a farming settlement into a bustling suburb.

In 1972 [[Northwestern University]] decided to sell a 106-acre golf course it owned on Lake Avenue, and offered for the village to buy it. Concerned that it might otherwise become a massive subdivision development, community groups and citizens organized to lobby for its preservation as open land. In June 1972 voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of approving $4.4 million in Park District tax bonds to finance the purchase (with 5,704 votes in favor and 785 in opposition). In November 1972 a Cook County Circuit judge set the appraisal of the land at $4.2 million, and the Wilmette Park District acquired the course.<ref name=parkdistrict/>

The same month in which the Park District acquired the golf course, citizens sent petitions to both the Park District and the Village Board requesting a referendum proposing that the Park District buy and preserve an 11-acre plot of land on the [[Mallinckrodt College]] property. The land had already been under contract, with its owners (the Society of the Sisters of Christian Charity) planning to sell it to a developer who intended to build 43 single-family homes. The referendum was held January 16, 1973, with voters rejecting the proposal. As a result, the parcel of land in question was developed into homes.<ref name=parkdistrict/>

On July 16, 1973, the Chicago Transit Authority ceased service at the Isabella station, leaving the Linden Station as the village's sole CTA station.<ref name=images/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicago-l.org/stations/isabella.html |title=Isabella (2800N/1200W) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=www.chicago-l.org |publisher=chicago-l.or |access-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-date=June 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620215742/http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/isabella.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  In 1974 Wilmette launched a village bus system named ''[[Wilmette Wilbus|Wilbus]]''.<ref name=images/>

In 1974 the Chicago & North Western Railroad planned to demolish the structure of the former 1897 station house, which it had previously been using for storage. The village saved the structure from demolition relocating it from its position along the Chicago & Northwestern tracks to elsewhere downtown. The structure is now recognized as a local landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=images/> In 1975 Wilmette built a new structure to replace its 1874 railroad station. The new station began serving commuters in September, and the 1874 station was razed in order to make room for parking behind the new Village Hall.<ref name=images/><ref name=bushnell/>

The village had begun construction on a new Village Hall in 1973. The project would replace the 1910 Village Hall.<ref name=images/><ref name=bushnell/> It was completed in 1975. However, its dedication ceremony would be held on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] of the following year (the [[United States Bicentennial|bicentennial day]] for the adoption of the [[United States' Declaration of Independence]]).<ref name=bushnell/>