Southeast Corner of Lee and Ellinwood Streets Reborn with Library Plaza

Since the opening of in 2000, the central block of Ellinwood Street has returned as a vital part of downtown Des Plaines. In Des Plaines' shopping heyday, this had been the very center of downtown, always with a wide variety of stores.

Earlier: .

This is evident looking at these photos. In the first photo, taken about 1909, the stores are mostly frame buildings, with the brick Village Hall on the corner and a more permanent brick. Remarkably, by the next picture, taken about 1939, every building had been replaced, with the Village Hall replaced by a modern new terra cotta store building featuring a Kroger Grocery. Many of the frame buildings were themselves not even the first on the site. This was truly a vibrant block.

By the time these structures, then overshadowed by the Behrel Parking Deck, were removed in the mid-1980's, to make way for redevelopment that would not occur for another 15 years, with retail strips of lower density than the historic structures that once stood there. The western four buildings had all recieved new facades, and the corner had become the long-time home to the fondly remembered Mandas Snack Shop.

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