The North Shore
Distinguished architecture, Lake Michigan, established village centers and a community shaped by education and civic life.
01 — At a Glance
Located approximately 17 miles north of Chicago, Winnetka combines lakefront recreation, established residential streets, distinctive architecture and convenient rail access. The community has a little over 12,000 residents and is centered around several walkable commercial districts.
The Winnetka Park District maintains 27 parks encompassing more than 242 acres. Recreation includes four public beaches, a boat launch, athletic fields, tennis, ice skating, golf and nearby forest-preserve areas.
Distinguished residences, mature landscaping and proximity to Lake Michigan. Homes range from historic architecture to major contemporary estates.
A village setting near shopping, dining, parks and Metra, with established homes and a strong neighborhood identity.
Generous properties, winding streets and convenient access to schools, recreation and commuter routes.
Classic residential streets near village amenities, schools, parks and the Winnetka Metra station.
Winnetka’s housing stock includes Georgian, Tudor, Colonial Revival, French-inspired, contemporary and significant architect-designed homes. For both buyers and sellers, architecture, renovation quality and the relationship between the house and its site can materially affect value.
02 — History
Winnetka began as a log tavern on the old Green Bay Trail and grew into a railroad village with a park deed that still holds. Along the way it gave American schools the Winnetka Plan and hosted the biggest crowd the Village Green has ever seen.
1836
Erastus Patterson brought his family from Woodstock, Vermont, by ox-drawn wagon and built a log tavern on a bluff over the lake, just east of today’s Christ Church. After Erastus died, Zeruah Patterson kept it running, and travelers called it the best drink of whiskey between Milwaukee and Chicago. John and Susannah Garland bought the place in 1847, and New Trier Township held its first meeting there in 1850.
1854–1856
Charles Peck and Walter Gurnee, president of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad, laid out the village as train service arrived in 1854. Sarah Peck chose the name Winnetka, from a Native American phrase thought to mean “beautiful land,” and in 1856 she organized the village’s first school, a private one. Charles encouraged the elms that gave Elm Street its name.
Source: Village of Winnetka
1869
Winnetka incorporated in 1869 with about 450 residents. The state charter banned the public sale and consumption of alcohol and required residents to plant and protect shade trees. Charles Peck donated the Village Common, now the Village Green, bounded by Elm, Maple, Oak and Cedar, with a deed requiring it to stay parkland in perpetuity.
Source: Village of Winnetka · Wikipedia
1919
New Trier High School had opened in 1901 with 76 students. In 1919 the village hired 29-year-old Carleton Washburne as superintendent. His Winnetka Plan, drawn from progressive education, had teachers build curriculum around hands-on learning and social responsibility. He stayed until 1943, and the schools still follow his lead.
Source: Winnetka Historical Society
1940
Washburne’s dream school was designed by Perkins, Wheeler & Will with Eliel and Eero Saarinen. Its child-sized hallways and furniture were a sharp departure from school design at the time. Crow Island was named a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
Source: Winnetka Historical Society · Wikipedia
1965
On July 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke on the Village Green to more than 8,000 people, the largest crowd ever gathered there. The visit was organized through the North Shore Summer Project. The Green, the same park Charles Peck set aside in 1869, is still the village’s gathering place.
Source: Winnetka Historical Society
The first settlers came up the Green Bay Trail. Erastus and Zeruah Patterson arrived from Vermont in 1836 and opened a log tavern on the bluff. The Garlands bought it in 1847, added a saw mill and a red brick house, and in 1869 built the first church on the site Christ Church holds today. New Trier Township organized at the Garland tavern in 1850.
The railroad reached the North Shore in 1854, and Charles and Sarah Peck, working with Walter Gurnee, platted the village around the depot. Sarah named the town and started its first school, a private one, in 1856. The first public school followed in 1859 at Elm and Maple, where Mrs. W. W. King taught 25 students. When Winnetka incorporated in 1869, its charter kept the town dry and protected its shade trees, and Charles Peck gave the Village Common with a deed requiring it to remain a park.
The village counted 584 residents in 1880, 1,883 in 1900 and 6,694 by 1920. The Park District was founded in 1904. The Fourth of July has been celebrated on the Green since 1886, and the idea for the Community House was born there too.
New Trier High School opened in 1901 with 76 students. Carleton Washburne, who had studied at Francis Parker’s experimental school in Chicago, arrived as superintendent in 1919 and introduced the Winnetka Plan, built on hands-on learning and social responsibility. Crow Island School, finished in 1940, put those ideas into architecture and is now a National Historic Landmark. New Trier had almost 1,000 graduates in 2024, from Winnetka, Glencoe, Kenilworth, Northfield, Wilmette, Glenview and Northbrook.
Between 1937 and 1942 the village lowered the Chicago and North Western tracks below street level through town. The North Shore Line interurban stopped running in 1955, and its right-of-way became the Green Bay Trail. On July 25, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to more than 8,000 people on the Village Green.
Winnetka’s streets carry work by George Maher, Walter Burley Griffin, John Van Bergen, Robert Seyfarth, Howard Van Doren Shaw and David Adler. The oldest house in the village, the Schmidt-Burnham Log House, was moved to Crow Island Woods in 2003, where the Winnetka Historical Society cares for it.
Source: Village of Winnetka · Winnetka Historical Society · Wikipedia
03 — Shopping & Dining
Most of Winnetka’s shops and restaurants line Elm Street near the Winnetka station and Green Bay Road through Hubbard Woods. The list mixes shops that have been here for generations with newer kitchens.
French-American bistro
Comfort classics and French-American plates in a neighborhood bistro on Green Bay Road.
64 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteGreek taverna
Greek cooking made in house, served across four dining rooms, a wine room and a patio.
566 Chestnut St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteFrench-inspired bistro
A bistro modeled on the cafés of France, with a dining room, bar, sidewalk café and garden courtyard. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday.
844 Spruce St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteItalian trattoria
A 1960s-era garage turned trattoria, serving antipasti, pizze and primi in Hubbard Woods.
985 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteAmerican restaurant
A renovated service station finished in concrete, tile and reclaimed wood. Seating is first come, first served.
574 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsitePlant-based restaurant
A plant-based kitchen built around seasonal vegetables.
924 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteIndependent bookstore
Open since 1940, first as Chestnut Court and as The Book Stall since 1986.
811 Elm St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteMen’s clothing
A full haberdashery that has dressed North Shore men since 1937.
839 Elm St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteJeweler
Ashley Forsyth Waldron’s shop for custom design, estate pieces and jewelry and watch repair.
725 Elm St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteHome décor & gifts
Home décor, gifts and accessories on Elm Street.
735 Elm St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteTabletop & entertaining
Tabletop, entertaining pieces and home décor on Green Bay Road for more than 40 years.
954 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit WebsiteChildren’s boutique
A children’s clothing boutique on Elm Street.
847 Elm St., Winnetka, IL 60093
Visit Website04 — Education
Most of Winnetka attends Winnetka Public Schools District 36 through eighth grade, then New Trier Township High School District 203. Some homes near the southern edge of the village fall in Avoca District 37 or Kenilworth District 38.
Boundaries follow the address. Confirm school assignment for each address with the district before you buy.
Search HomesPublic · K–8
Three neighborhood schools for the early grades, then two schools shared by the whole village.
Public · 9–12
District 203 opened its first building in 1901 with 76 students. Freshmen start at the Northfield campus.
Public · Southern Edge
A few Winnetka addresses near the southern boundary attend these districts, then New Trier.
Independent · JK–12
An independent day school in Winnetka founded in 1919, with the motto “Live and Serve.”
Catholic · PreK–8
Two Catholic elementary schools in the village, each with deep roots.
Catholic · 9–12
Two Catholic high schools a short drive south in Wilmette.
05 — Lifestyle
Winnetka’s year runs from the beaches in July to the hockey rinks in January, with the Village Green in the middle of most of it. Three Metra stations keep the city close.
Elder Lane, Maple Street, Tower Road and Lloyd beaches line the lakefront, and Lloyd is home to the Stepan Family Boat Launch.
BeachesA championship 18-hole course plus a par-3 nine, a driving range, practice greens and a clubhouse, run by the Park District.
Golf ClubWinnetka’s first park, given in 1869 with a deed that keeps it parkland in perpetuity. The Cenotaph here honors Winnetkans who died fighting for their country.
Learn MoreThe 10 a.m. parade runs east on Elm Street to Village Green Park, followed by a flag raising, a children’s flag parade and family foot races. Fireworks go up at Duke Childs Field.
Event DetailsThe North Shore Art League’s juried fine arts fair fills Hubbard Woods Park each June. The 2026 fair ran June 13–14.
Event DetailsA 65-year tradition on the Village Green, run by the board of the Winnetka Community Nursery School.
Things To DoA community club founded in 1972, with a travel program and home ice that includes the Winnetka Ice Arena.
Visit WebsiteLittle League house and travel baseball, from KLeague up through Pony.
Visit WebsiteYear-round lacrosse through eighth grade across the New Trier district, coached by New Trier coaches and former players.
Visit WebsiteA two-day music festival each June. The next one is June 18–19, 2027.
Visit WebsiteA three-acre community center founded in 1911 at 620 Lincoln Ave., in a Tudor Revival building by Arthur Coffin. It’s home to the Children’s Theatre of Winnetka.
AboutFounded in 1924 and one of the oldest art leagues in the country. Its skylit studio on the second floor of the Community House opened in 1932.
HistoryMetra’s Union Pacific North Line stops at 754 Elm St., with trains to Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha. Pace 213 and 423 connect here.
Station DetailsTwo more UP-N stops, at 1065 Gage St. in Hubbard Woods and 111 N. Green Bay Rd. at Indian Hill, both on Pace 213.
Station DetailsRoute 213 serves Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northbrook and Highland Park. Route 423 runs from the Linden CTA Purple Line station through Winnetka, Northfield, Glenview and Niles.
Route 21306 — The 60-Second Overview
Four chapters, about fifteen seconds each, on how Winnetka began, what the village is today, where ZIP 60093 sits, and what to confirm on a specific home.
0:15
Winnetka incorporated in 1869. Charles Peck and Walter S. Gurnee subdivided the village in 1854 along the railroad that opened the North Shore. The name is believed to come from a Potawatomi phrase meaning “beautiful place.”
0:30
The village sits in New Trier Township, about 17 miles north of downtown Chicago on Lake Michigan. Metra’s Union Pacific North Line stops at Hubbard Woods, Winnetka, and Indian Hill. The Winnetka Park District keeps 27 parks, five beaches, and more than 242 acres.
0:45
ZIP 60093 covers the village on Chicago’s North Shore. Sheridan Road and the Metra UP-N line tie Winnetka to the villages along the lake and to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago.
1:00
Winnetka Public Schools District 36 serves much of the village, and New Trier Township High School District 203 covers grades 9–12. Confirm attendance boundaries, lakefront or floodplain notes, and recent sales for the address. A Blue Fence Winnetka Private Client agent confirms the items for a specific home.
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