History of Melrose Park Celebrated in New Book

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Melrose Park by local authors Fidencio Marbella and Margaret Flanagan. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides a vivid illustration of the evolution of Melrose Park over the past century.

Originally founded by German immigrants, followed by successive waves of Lithuanians, Italians, and Hispanics, Melrose Park has undergone a series of transformations since its incorporation in 1882. Close proximity to Chicago and the coming of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad ensured that Melrose Park became a center for manufacturing and heavy industry. Major companies including Benjamin Moore, International Harvester, and the National Malleable Castings Company built plants here, and the town was also known as the headquarters for Polk Brothers.

Entertainment and leisure activities have been an important part of life in Melrose Park too. Kiddieland Amusement Park was built in 1929, quickly becoming a popular destination for Chicago area families, and the town was also home to classic movie theaters, the North Avenue Rollerway, and the Come Back Inn, a popular local restaurant. The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a cherished Melrose Park event that has been celebrated annually since 1894.

The authors hope that “this visual portrait of an ever-vibrant community will be a valuable historical resource that will bind past, present, and future generations of Melrose Parkers together.”

Highlights of Melrose Park:

• All profits from the book will be donated to the Melrose Park Library Fresco Fund for the restoration of a New Deal Era Fresco recently discovered in the library.
• The majority of the images used in the book belong to the Melrose Park Historical Society.
• The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Taste of Melrose Park and HispanoFest, three annual festivals popular among Chicago-area residents, are prominently featured.
• A chapter in the book is devoted to chronicling the devastation wreckage caused by the catastrophic Palm Sunday twister of 1920.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888)-313-2665.

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