Riverside Real Estate & Homes for Sale in Illinois

Riverside Real Estate & Homes for Sale in Illinois

Designed and planned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – the landscape designers who developed the plan for New York City’s Central Park – the Village of Riverside is considered the best example of how Olmsted thought suburban areas should be created. Olmsted’s design for Riverside was revolutionary because the thought of creating a beautiful, scenic environment with plenty of open space was a new concept in city planning. Located in Cook County, nine miles west of Chicago along the Des Plaines River, the village is 1600 acres of curving streets, open spaces and transitional public and private areas filled with lush plantings. In 1970, Riverside was designated a National Historic Landmark, recognizing the historic landscape planning done by Olmsted and Vaux. Today, the village’s 16,000 residents take pride in their community and work hard to preserve the original design, which took Olmsted and Vaux two years to complete (1868-1869). The village maintains 379 of the original gas street lamps, the curving streets, and the large parks and 41 smaller parks. Riverside is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. In addition to the many parks, there are 900 acres of Forest Preserve District land adjacent to the Village. There are ball fields, tennis courts, trails and paths, a sledding hill, an ice rink, playgrounds and plenty of open space in Riverside’s parks. Industries that provide employment in Riverside include educational, health and social services, professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services, finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing, retail trade. Students in grades K-12 are accommodated by the Riverside School District. Several colleges and universities are in proximity for those who wish to pursue a degree in higher education.