Locally grown vegetables abound at Wheaton’s French Market.
Wheaton’s French Market features fresh cut flowers.
Some of the tempting baked goods at Wheaton’s French Market.
who found the area enticing. In 2018, Money Magazine named Wheaton No. 27 on their Best Place to Live in Illinois. In 2014 Wheaton was rated among the top 12 suburbs by Chicago Magazine’s Best Places to Live. In the same year George Washington University bestowed the honor to Wheaton as one of the Top Walkable Cities in the Chicago Area. There was another family who foundWheaton irresistible. In 2016, my son and his family (Scott, Holly, Tommy, and Brandon Reed) moved to Wheaton answering a call to ministry there. They love it and have fully embraced all the city has to offer. That’s how I also discovered Wheaton. I, too, find it lovely. Wheaton in 2021 features a downtown out of central casting, a red brick town hall, an old theater with a classic façade, and locally owned shops. The downtown plays host to year-round events, such as Taste of Wheaton, a live music and food festival held at the outset of summer. A couple months later, residents can grab dinner at their downtown restaurant of choice and walk a few blocks to Shakespeare in the Park. If you’re yearning for home-grown fruit and vegetables or home-baked breads, freshly made desserts, and any homemade products, then attend the Saturday morning French Market. Pick up some flowers, a coffee, also craft
jewelry, or hot sauces. Many city residents choose to walk or ride their bikes to the market. After all, it is one of the Top Walkable Cities. When people first think of Wheaton, Illinois, they may first think of Wheaton College. It started out as the struggling Illinois Institute founded by the Wesleyans in 1853. When Warren Wheaton gave a parcel of land to the institute, President Jonathan Blanchard proposed to have the school renamed Wheaton College. It was his desire that the new college commit itself to a combination of intellectual growth and Christian faith and, for more than 165 years, the school has done just that. Today it offers 40 majors with a student-to-faculty ration of 10-1 and an average class size of 23. Visiting the campus will immediately immerse you into more than 155 years of history, with everything from the castle-like limestone structure of Blanchard Hall to the modern brick of the Meyer Science Center. The college also hosts the Billy Graham Center. Founded in 1980, the center is dedicated for the purpose of training today’s and tomorrow’s church leaders and reaches more than 100,000 people each year through training and teaching. The Billy Graham Center Museum is a family-oriented museum with rare artifacts and interactive displays covering 20,000 square feet of
WONDERFUL WHEATON
COAST TO COAST SUMMER MAGAZINE 2021
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