Annexation Celebrated

On Saturday, July 15, 1989, red, white and blue balloons rose into the sky above Chicago’s north side.

The balloons commemorated the 100th anniversary date of a massive land annexation of which Edgewater, as part of the town of Lake View, was a part. The 1889 event, for a long time, made Chicago the nation’s second largest city in population and the nation’s biggest city in size; we are now third and seventh, respectively.

Former Illinois Governor William Stratton, a longtime Lake View resident, was the featured speaker at the Ravenswood-LakeView Historical Association’s festive “Annexation Celebration Day” at the Conrad Sulzer Regional Library.

Both Mayor Richard Daley and U.S. Representative Frank Annunzio (D., Ill.) issued proclamations honoring the annexation anniversary.

The celebration continued on Sunday, July 16, with a community picnic. The historical association is planning a grand parade, complete with horse patrol, for Saturday, October 21. Watch your newspaper for details of the parade.