Fans of Chicago’s professional soccer team may find themselves in an unfamiliar place when the Fire plays its first MLS league home game of the season. With Soldier Field under renovation, the Fire will play at North Central College’s Cardinal Stadium in downtown Naperville.
But soccer devotees and other visitors will find much more than just housing subdivisions and shopping malls in the far western suburb, which explosive growth has made the fourth largest city in Illinois, with a population of nearly 135,000.
From Cardinal Stadium, drive or walk south two blocks on nearby Washington Street, and west two blocks on Aurora Avenue to Webster Street, to the town’s most popular destination: Naper Settlement.
The settlement is a living history village, offering a slice of 19th Century pioneer life as it re-creates the early days of DuPage County’s oldest city, complete with costumed villagers demonstrating period arts and trades including blacksmithing, spinning, weaving and printing.
The 13-acre settlement has more than two dozen buildings, including a farmhouse, a one-room schoolhouse, a pioneer log home, a church and tradesman’s shops.
Start at the Pre-Emption House, which serves as the settlement’s visitor center. The original house was built in 1834 as a hotel and tavern, and later used as a county courthouse and a sample room for local breweries. Naperville’s early brewers include Adolph Coors, who worked at the Stenger Brewery before lighting out for Colorado. The Pre-Emption house was torn down in 1946, and replicated on the grounds of Naper Settlement in 1997.
Galleries at the house display Naperville artifacts from the 1900s to the present day. A lower gallery showcases early memorabilia, including farm tools, a vintage barbershop pole and one of the town’s first fire hydrants. It also includes a portrait of Joseph Naper (1798-1862), Naperville’s first resident and town namesake. There’s also a collection of 42 folk art paintings by area artist Lester Schrader illustrating the town’s past.
The gallery of Schrader paintings anchors the recently completed, $1.7 million interactive exhibit, “Brushstrokes of the Past … Naperville’s Story.” The exhibit showcases the town’s history and early commercial development.
Perhaps the settlement’s most notable building is the Martin Mitchell Mansion, an 1883 Victorian home. The mansion is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Illinois Register of Historic Places. It is undergoing a $2.8 million renovation, which includes the restoration of its porch and carriage house, interior redecorating and period landscaping.
Another popular site on the grounds is the 1864 Century Memorial Chapel. It was moved to its present site in 1969, after it was threatened with demolition to accommodate development at its original location in downtown Naperville. Today, the chapel is a popular location for weddings and other special events.
Walk one block north of the settlement and you’ll encounter another Naperville treasure: the Riverwalk.
The 4-mile-long, brick Riverwalk, built in 1982 to celebrate Naperville’s 150th anniversary, winds along the west branch of the DuPage River. The walk includes parks, plazas, gardens, covered bridges, gazebos, scenic overlooks, an amphitheater, athletic fields and eateries. Adjacent to the Riverwalk is Centennial Beach, a huge swimming pool opened in 1932 on the site of a former quarry. Families will enjoy the paddleboat quarry next to the beach, where boats can be rented weekends from spring through fall.
One of the Riverwalk’s most popular attractions is the Millennium Carillon, at Aurora Avenue just west of Washington Street at the base of Rotary Hill. The musical bell tower first rang during Independence Day weekend two years ago.
Carillons were common in medieval European towns. Naperville’s tower is 158 feet tall, housing 72 cast bronze bells that span a six-octave range. They can be played by a piano-like keyboard or controlled via computerized strikers. The carillon’s largest bell weighs 6 tons and has been dubbed “Big Joe” for town father Joseph Naper. The carillon can be heard daily at 11 a.m., 4 and 7 p.m., and also at 8 p.m. weekends.
Last year a half-mile extension of the Riverwalk from the Washington Street Bridge to Hillside Road opened. Future plans include the creation of a park on an adjacent parcel of land to enhance the extension.
When DuPage was formed in 1839, Naperville was the county seat. In 1867, the Illinois General Assembly voted to move the county seat to Wheaton. After Naperville refused to turn over the county records, Wheaton residents staged a midnight raid and removed the records, beginning a longtime rivalry between the two towns.
With last year’s relocation of the DuPage Children’s Museum from Wheaton to Naperville, the town was able to exact a measure of revenge against its neighbor to the north.
The multicolored exterior of the $13 million, 40,000-square-foot museum on Washington Street north of downtown is designed to capture kids’ imaginations before they even enter the building. And like the growing number of children’s museums nationwide, Naperville’s is designed to take youngsters on a voyage of discovery without sacrificing the fun.
There are six main areas. Creativity Connections combines art, math and science through such activities as exploring the senses and experimenting with light and sound. The Build It area encourages children to use tools and think creatively. The Make It Move exhibit encourages kids to experiment with gravity as they create pathways for balls to travel through using ramps, rollers and other devices.
The AirWorks exhibit allows kids to experiment with a wind tunnel and a maze of pneumatic tubes with balls and other objects whizzing through it. Kids are challenged to discover the power of water in the WaterWays area, which includes waterfalls and offers them the opportunity to build dams and manage water flow. There’s also a Bubbles area, in which children learn how air and water combine to create bubbles. Math Connections uses fun devices such as enormous kaleidoscopes, spinning pattern wheels and light tables to demonstrate how math is part of everyday life.
Other museum areas include several Young Explorers centers, designed for infants through 2-year-olds, an art studio, family resources center and lab spaces for special programs at area schools.
THE TOUR
Naper Settlement: 523 S. Webster St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, November to March; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April to October. In July and August, Thursday hours are extended to 8 p.m. Admission is $3.25 for adults, $2.75 for seniors and $2 for children ages 4 to 17, November-March; $6.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors and $4 for children, April to October. Free parking on site. 630-420-6010.
Riverwalk: Along the DuPage River from Jefferson Avenue to Hillside Avenue, just east of Washington Street. Open year-round. Free, except for special activities. Free parking at several lots on site.
DuPage Children’s Museum: 301 N. Washington St. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6.50 for children and adults, $5.50 for seniors.
Time: 6 hours.
Total cost: $13.
DINING
Under $10: Portillo’s Hot Dogs, 950 E. Ogden Ave., 630-961-1151, world-class hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches.
Under $20: Copa Cubana, 224 S. Main St., 630-983-2672, highly rated Cuban cuisine in a converted Laundromat.
Splurge: Meson Sabika, 1025 Aurora Ave., 630-983-3000, Spanish tapas in a restored 1847 mansion.
TIPS
Parking: Traffic clogs Washington Street–particularly on weekends–so make use of free downtown parking lots, including one adjacent to North Central College.
Rainy Day: Substitute Fifth Avenue Station for the Riverwalk.
The Last Fling: Aug. 30-Sept. 2. Naperville’s traditional end-of-summer blowout includes concerts by top national musical acts on the main stage.
Photo ops: Naper Settlement; the Millennium Carillon at the Riverwalk.
ANOTHER DAY
Historic Tours: 219 S. Ewing St. From the Riverwalk, one-hour trolley tours include Naperville’s historic district, downtown, North Central College and Naper Settlement.
Fifth Avenue Station: 200-300 E. 5th St. The sprawling former Kroehler furniture factory now houses shops, restaurants and a school of performing arts.
The Century Walk: Walk through downtown Naperville and encounter major works of art, including mosaics, reliefs, murals and sculptures commemorating Naperville’s history.
Central Park Band Shell: Washington Street at Jefferson Avenue. For the quintessential Naperville experience, check out the 7:30 p.m. Thursday concerts during the summer by the venerable Naperville Municipal Band.
