Blue Island, Illinois, Visitor Guide

Blue Island, Illinois, was discovered, settled, and had a hotel in place before Chicago, its huge neighbor to the north, had dug foundations for its first few houses.

Chicago has grown to have millions of people, but Blue Island, some thirty miles to the south, has a fraction of the population but an equal proportional amount of the charm and grit that makes it a unique place to discover when visiting the region.

Though Blue Island is not surrounded by water, it was seen by settlers crossing the sea of prairie grass as one. To the pioneers from the eastern United States, the first view of the future settlement from their wagons or prairie schooners, was a ridge that appeared blue in color. The rise or ridge looked like an island, and there was a blue coloring to the ridge, according to the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission.

Today, the modern day traveler arrives in Blue Island by car or by train. If you head south on Western Avenue from Chicago, you are retracing pioneer steps yourself, as Western Avenue was once the Wabash Road and part of the Vincennes Trail, and important route for both Indians and white settlers. If you chug in on Metra by rail you are click-clacking over the old Rock Island Lines, which went all the way to New Orleans in the very old days, but has now disappeared into history and railroad blues.

Walking and Shopping:

The modern Blue Island is a place for walking, because of the historical sites, restored nineteenth century store fronts, and residential architecture, which features many different styles of construction.

Some of the famous architects associated with Blue Island include Bertrand Goldberg, who designed Chicago's famous Marina towers and George Washington Maher. Examples of their residential work can be amongst Blue Island's interesting collection of historical homes.

One interesting and tragic historical site is the location where the Ottawa Indians joined forces with other tribes to defeat the Illinois Tribe, which was believed responsible for the death of Pontiac, the Ottawa Chief.

Along Western Avenue are a number of places for the antique shopper, including Hands of Time and Three Sisters Antiques.

Eating and Drinking:

Nobody starves in Blue Island, whether you want a snack at a local taquería or something more elegant and continental at the Island Cafe. Iverson's Bakery, a landmark in itself, will provide something to take care of your sweet tooth, too.

Venture south down Western Avenue, just past the main collection of stores and restaurants and you will find a sign directing your to Olde Western Avenue. This is the area of the city that survived a devastating fire in nineteenth century. The fire didn't jump the canal, so this old section of Blue Island survived to host some locally famous restaurants and Jeben's Hardware store that caters to the great-grandchildren of the survivors.

On a warm summer evening music will be drifting out from the Maple Tree Inn, a creole and Cajun restaurant, which also serves a good collection of drought beer from various micro-brewery's across the country. The music might be Zydeco or it might be rock and roll, but walking southward is Maro's Taco's.

Maro's Tacos has expanded in the last decade from a basic store front to a full service restaurant with outdoor dining. It's a great place to relax with an excellent variety of Mexican cuisine.

A number of other pubs and restaurants call Olde Western Avenue Home and are worth trips back, too.

Over on the other side of the Metra Tracks, along Vermont Street, you don't want to miss another legendary place, called Blues Island, which features live blues.

In The Movies:

Blue Island's eclectic collection of nineteenth century buildings and unique shops has made it the star of several films, according to Wiki, including Flags of Our Fathers, The Express and The Lucky Ones.

Some famous people hailing from Blue Island include, Nicole "Nikki" Kaapke, 29, one of the bacholorettes in a recent The Bachelor Show. Robert Schuller, the televangelist, was born in Blue Island, too.

One Pulitzer prize winning book, Edna, His Wife, an American Idyll,1935, by Margaret Ayer Barnes used Blue Island as a setting for a character's life which was then "out in the country".

A more modern luminary is Andrew Leckey, a financial host on CNBC.

Nearby Diversions:

Nearby is all relative, of course, but the White Sox Cellular Field is about 15 miles up the road, Chicago's China Town is a little further in the same direction. Going a little further south is the Kankakee River and its recreation opportunities, and heading west is Joliet and some gambling boats.

When You Visit:

There are many places to stay close by if you are visiting Blue Island.

Sources:

A number of web sites were used to compile factual data, including the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission., Wikipedia and the Blue Island Web site.