- Highland Park
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1. a city in NE Illinois, on Lake Michigan. 30,611.2. a city in SE Michigan, within the city limits of Detroit. 27,909.3. a town in central New Jersey. 13,396.
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city, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. Lying on Lake Michigan (Michigan, Lake), it is a suburb of Chicago, located some 25 miles (40 km) north of downtown. Potawatomi Indians were recent inhabitants of the area when settlement of the site began in 1834. The community was called St. Johns and then Port Clinton before the arrival of the railroad in 1854, when it was renamed Highland Park. By the turn of the 20th century, the city had become a wealthy residential suburb of Chicago. Still mainly residential, the city also manufactures paper and plastic products. Ravinia Park (36 acres [15 hectares]) was established in 1904 as an amusement park. The park hosts one of the country's most prominent music festivals and is the summer home (since 1936) of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The city also features a local theatre and a fine arts centre. The Chicago Botanic Garden, which contains more than 20 gardens spread over nearly 400 acres (160 hectares), is just south of the city, in neighbouring Glencoe. Inc. 1869. Pop. (1990) 30,575; (2000) 31,365.city, Wayne county, southeastern Michigan, U.S. A small part of the city limits touches the town of Hamtramck; both towns are otherwise completely surrounded by Detroit. Settled in the early 1800s, it was first called Nabor and then Whitewood. It was incorporated as a village in 1889, adopting its present name (for a local ridge, since leveled). Industrialist Henry Ford (Ford, Henry) opened his first (Model T) automobile plant there in 1910, introducing the assembly-line method of production. After the Model T was discontinued in 1927, the assembly operations were moved to Dearborn. The plant has since been designated a national historical landmark. Highland Park's economy was for many years led by the Chrysler Corporation's headquarters and a Ford Motor Company tractor plant. However, by the early 1990s both had moved elsewhere, severely affecting the local economy and leading to population loss. Inc. city, 1917. Pop. (2000) 16,746; (2005 est.) 15,430.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
