Market Square (Lake Forest, Illinois)

Market Square

Market Square is a 103,000-square-foot (9,600 m2)[1] neighborhood shopping center[2] in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Opened in 1916, it is often cited as the first planned shopping center in the United States, with common design and management and designated area for parking automobiles.[3][4]

Although Country Club Plaza (1923) in Kansas City, Missouri is generally credited as the first suburban and the first regional shopping center designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile,[5] Market Square was first with these features, but was neither suburban nor of "regional" size (400,000 sq. ft. or larger).[2] Market Square was built within an already defined central retail district, replacing prior development.[6][7] Lake Forest resident Arthur T. Aldis championed the notion of replacing the dilapidated business district of the town, and engaged architect Howard Van Doren Shaw.[3]

In Illinois, the first major center to be developed after Market Square was Spanish Court (1928).

In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, Lake Forest Market Square was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places [8] by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component (AIA Illinois).

  1. ^ "Market Square". L3 Capital. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "ICSC Shopping Center Definitions: Basic Configurations and Types" (PDF). International Council of Shopping Centers. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Mike Conklin (April 24, 1997). "Market Square in Lake Forest". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  4. ^ "Retail Traffic Magazine - formerly Shopping Center World". Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  5. ^ "'Nichols' Folly'". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  6. ^ Ebner, Michael H. Creating Chicago's North Shore: a suburban history p. 206 (1988) (ISBN 978-0226182056)
  7. ^ Herbert F. Nelson (September 8, 1940). "Planned Rebuilding of Business Area Keep Its Modern 25 Years". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  8. ^ Waldinger, Mike (January 30, 2018). "The proud history of architecture in Illinois". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2018.