Driving Around Downtown Rockford, Illinois in 4k Video

Filmed on Monday, May 29 2023, I drive around the downtown area of Rockford, IL to see what's happening. Not much!

Rockford is the largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago Metro Area.

Rockford traces its roots to 1834, as the combined settlements of Midway were founded on both banks of the Rock River. On the west bank, Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake founded Kentville; the east bank was settled by Daniel Shaw Haight.

With the location of the Rock River equidistant between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, the combined settlement derived the name "Midway".

In 1836, Winnebago County was created, with Midway named as its county seat, as it was "halfway between Galena and Chicago on a line of four-horse coaches."

In 1837, the village of Midway was renamed Rockford, highlighting a rocky river ford across the Rock River in the village.

One of its contemporary attractions, the Coronado Theatre, opened in 1927. Noted for its atmospheric styling, the Coronado rivaled its counterparts in Chicago and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

In the September 1949 issue of Life magazine, postwar Rockford was described as "nearly typical of the U.S. as any city can be."

From 1955 to 1965, several events would take place that would shape the development of Rockford into the 21st century. In 1956, construction was approved for a four-lane U.S 20 bypass; along with shifting truck traffic away from the downtown routing of the highway, the bypass established much of the southern border of the city (which remains to this day).

In 1958, Interstate 90 was completed in Illinois, becoming the Northwest Tollway; in a decision that would change Rockford forever, the interstate highway was not routed through the city, but near the Winnebago-Boone county line.

From the late 1950s, downtown Rockford began to decline as the primary shopping district of the city.

In 1956, North Towne Mall opened on the far northwest side of the city, with Colonial Village opening on the far east side in 1962, both of which were partially enclosed (some stores had exterior entrances). In 1973, Cherryvale Mall was opened as the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the city; nearly 6 miles from the city center, the mall was located at the intersection of the US-20 bypass and the Northwest Tollway.

While growth at the eastern end of Rockford undersaw favorable conditions for growth, established neighborhoods began to suffer irrevocable decline.

In the 1970s, efforts commenced to revitalize downtown Rockford, once the primary shopping district. In a highly criticized decision, the city reconfigured several blocks of downtown into a pedestrian mall, closing off the Main Street/West State Street intersection to traffic.

During the 2000s, a movement began to reverse urban blight of downtown Rockford, which had begun in the 1960s.

Following an 18-month multi-million dollar renovation and expansion, the Coronado Theatre was reopened in 2001. In 2008, the MetroCentre downtown arena completed a $20 million renovation, and was renamed the BMO Harris Bank Center in 2011.

In 2009, the downtown pedestrian mall was removed as part of a street refurbishment project, restoring Main Street to two-lane traffic for the first time in nearly 45 years.

While predominately a manufacturing community since World War II, Rockford has struggled to diversify its industrial base. Shifting from agricultural machinery and furniture, manufacturing in the city remains dominated by fasteners, automotive suppliers, and the aerospace industry.

As of the 2020 census, there were 148,655 people residing in the city, down from 152,871 in 2010.

The racial makeup of the city was 65.1% White, 20.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% of the population.

The median income for a household in the city was $55,667, and the per capita income for the city was $19,781.

14.0% of the population and 10.5% of families were below the poverty line. 19.6% of those under the age of 18 and 8.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. #driving #travel #drivingtour