Editing Wilmette, Illinois (section)

====Late 20th century====
In 1978 deficits forced the village to close the Curtis Curling Center only a decade after it first opened.<ref name=curtisclose/> The space was used for a televised [[Guinness Book of World Records|Guinness]] [[world record]]-setting 135,000 piece [[domino show]] in 1979,<ref name=curtisclose/> but would otherwise sit vacant until being converted into a senior housing complex named The Atrium in 1982.<ref name=images/><ref name=parkdistrict/> Despite the closure of the Curtis Curling Center, the Wilmette Curling Club continues to exist (albeit without a facility of their own).<ref name=wilmettecurlingclub/> They won the 1984 United States Men's Curling Championship<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Winners of Individual and Team Championships During 1985 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/29/sports/winners-of-individual-and-team-championships-during-1985.html?pagewanted=all |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |location=[[New York City]] |date=December 29, 1985 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219090659/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/29/sports/winners-of-individual-and-team-championships-during-1985.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref> and represented the United States at the [[1985 Air Canada Silver Broom|1985]] men's [[World Curling Championships]] where they ultimately tied with Denmark to place 3rd overall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://results.worldcurling.org/Championship/Details/37 |title=Air Canada Silver Broom 1985 |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=results.worldcurling.org |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=February 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219142325/http://results.worldcurling.org/Championship/Details/37 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 1970s, Wilmette experienced a post-[[baby boom]] drop in primary school education. As a result, the village closed three schools (including Bell School).<ref name=parkdistrict/> The village also closed Highcrest Middle School, but retained ownership to accommodate a potential re-opening in the future. Highcrest was subsequently used by the village as a community recreation center and was for a time the home of the Wilmette Historical Museum.<ref name=parkdistrict/>

In 1973 the Park District had purchased (with the assistance of a federal grant) a 4.8 acre parcel of land near Skokie Boulevard and Hibbard for a playground. However, it was subsequently decided that instead of a playground, the Park District would develop the site as an open-space nature center. The site was incrementally developed before being officially dedicated in 1981 as the Stephen R. Keay Nature Learning Center.<ref name=parkdistrict/> The [[Green Bay Trail]] opened in 1981.

In October 1991 construction began on a new structure for the Linden Station. The new Linden Station opened in 1993, with the former station being preserved as a retail space and a local historical landmark.<ref name=images/><ref name=ctalinden/>

In 1974, the village gave a contract to the firm OTR to design and operate a bus service for Wilmette, in view of the bankruptcy of the privately owned Glenview Bus Company. The service was named by a contest as [[Wilmette Wilbus]], and it began in March 1974.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Wade |date=January 31, 1974 |title=Village retains OTR to devise plan |journal=Wilmette Life}}</ref> Drivers and maintenance staff were Village employees. Ridership grew as service quality was high, and the routes served the train stations, the high schools and the shopping area. In 1995 [[Pace (transit)|Pace]] took over the operations for Wilmette's bus routes, bringing an end to the village's ''Wilbus'' service.<ref name=images/>

In 1994 the board of Wilmette Public Schools District 39 voted to reopen Highcrest Middle School. This forced the Wilmette Park District to find new quarters.<ref name=parkdistrict/> The Park District bought the former Bell Elementary School building, which had been developed for use as offices, and converted it into their new home. After significant renovations, the 95,000 square foot Community Recreation Center was opened in October 1995. Parts of the center were dedicated for use by the Early Childhood Center and Meskill Senior Center (the hub of the village's programs for those aged fifty and older), creating spaces dedicated to serving some of both Wilmette's youngest and oldest residents.<ref name=parkdistrict/> Other portions of the building housed the Center Fitness Club and a brand-new gymnastics facility.<ref name=parkdistrict/> An athletic gymnasium was added to Community Recreation Center 1996 and an auditorium (funded in part by a $720,000 grant from the state) was added to the Community Recreation Center in 1998. The Auditorium is now home to ''The North Shore Theater of Wilmette'' and ''Wilmette Children's Theatre''.<ref name=parkdistrict/>