  Lake Forest
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 18 Lake Forest Tips.38 Lake Forest Photos.0 Lake Forest Videos. Lake Forest Pages by deecat
| Page Views: 1,041 Last Visit to Lake Forest: September, 2007 | Impressive and Exclusive North Shore Community by deecat - last update: Oct 10, 2007 |
Picturesque and Historic Lake Forest | Beautiful Market Square Center |
When Allan and I lived in Lake Bluff, we spent a great deal of time and money in the neighboring town of Lake Forest. The two towns almost run together, and the students at Lake Bluff end up going to the Lake Forest High School.
Lake Forest is 31 miles north of Chicago and is located on the west shore of LAKE MICHIGAN. This remarkable town is noted for natural beauty, preservation of historic structures, beautiful mansions, and a vibrant business district.
It is a wealthy community and one only need to note that in "1999, the average sale price of a single-family home was $821,316.00"!
Historically, the town was founded in 1852, and The Lake Forest Plan used a general concept of the "city in a park, with its streets laid out in an organic manner that takes into account....the ravines, lake bluffs, etc. instead of forcing the street plan into a formal gridiron plan".
When it was first developed, the original planners made roads that provided limited access to the city to keep it tranquil and isolated. The area called East Lake Forest near Lake Michigan remains rather secluded still today. This is the area that includes many of the distinguished mansions and estates. |
| Lake Forest Public High School |
|  | Abundant Educational Opportunities In this affluent enclave, education is of utmost importance.
Some say that the town of Lake Forest was built around Lake Forest College which is a beautiful Private four-year college that exemplifies the understated wealth of this historic city.
In addition, Lake Forest is also noted for Lake Forest Academy which is a private Prep School within the city limits.
Also, Lake Forest Country Day School [1-12]is a private school where many local students attend and go on to prestigious eastern prep schools. I can attest to Lake Forest Country Day School because my daughter Jill attended this school for two years.
And, finally, Lake Forest Public Schools are noted for their fine educational opportunities. In all these educational institutions, it is obvious from the buildings alone [wonderful architecture] that the people of Lake Forest value and place a high priority on their children's education. |
Famous for its History of Polo Lake Forest was once the farthest-west establishment of Polo in the nation. Today, Lake Forest continues its love of Polo, which is played yearly throughout August.
I remember when I read F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, that Lake Forest was where the lead character, Tom Buchanan's polo ponies were bred. Some people go as far as to say that The Great Gatsby was a mirror of Lake Forest at that time. |
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| Pros: | "Picturesque, scenic, architectually historic" | | Cons: | "Somewhat Exclusive" | | In A Nutshell: | "A naturally beautiful and architectually historic Town" |
deecat's Lake Forest Travel Tips
 Comments for deecat about Lake Forest | | | | |
evaanna Thu May 1, 2008 17:59 UTC
Goodness, shopping and eating out seem to have absorbed you so much there that you forgot to show us Lake Michigan and the mansions you mention in the intro. :) Can't blame you though, the temptations were great, I admit. | MJB123 Fri Feb 22, 2008 21:33 UTC
Hello Dee. Thanks for posting these VT Pages on Lake Forest. I may not ever be rich enough to live in there so they are the next best thing to driving the Bentley back to my mansion after a power lunch at the Bank Lane Bistro. | Bwana_Brown Tue Feb 12, 2008 18:46 UTC
Speaking of Restaurant tips, you have a very impressive collection yourself on this page! The range of food selections is amazing - but I'd have to go slowly for my wallet's sake! Nice that the locals rallied to save the beautiful old train station. | traveldave Sat Dec 15, 2007 22:43 UTC
I'm sure I must have passed through Lake Forest when I lived in Chicago, but all those North Shore towns seem to run together and I never knew where one town began and the other left off. I do remember that the area was very beautiful and well kept. |
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