Fred Brostoff

Since you folks are going down memory lane, here are a few other names you might remember.  See if you can identify them:

• The Plant Room
• Fish Keg
• Bill's Hot Dogs
• Walker Bros. Pancake House
• Mustard's Last Stand
• Big Herm's
• Hershey's
• Zweig's Restaurant
• Devonshire Pool
• Lee Street Beach
• Dyche Stadium
• Rotary Club building
• Main Street newsstand
• The "L" store
• Boltwood Park
• Wieboldt's store
• Chandler's
• The Evanston Express

Maybe you have a few others to list.

Ruth Gross

Add to that: Varsity, Valencia, and Coronet Movie Theatres.

South and North Branch Libraries

Just for Fun (Toy Shop)

Lords and Lyttons Dept. Stores. (not to mention Marshall Field's)

Jack Hayes

Adding to Fred's list--
Chandler Park--baseball, basketball, and sledding
Ackerman (?) Park--Ice skating, tennis
Lighthouse Beach
Central Street C&NW Station
Howard Street EL Station where you had to switch trains
The NEW Main Library

Sherwin "Jay" Siegall

Gold Coin, Mount Trashmore! Peak Restaurant ( before it became Gold Coin at Howard and Dodge)

Sherwin "Jay" Siegall

Griefmans Deli 

Howard Bowl  

Norshore Theatre 

Jack Rakove

Not quite in Evanston, but the Villa Girgenti for pizza. On the 7600 block of Paulina, just north of Howard.

Because the Villa's pizza was so good, we rarely went elsewhere, but The Spot on Foster was great, too.

And then there was some bbq joint for rib tips (whatever they are) I think at Emerson and Asbury. Does that ring any bells?

Susan Spiegel (Pastin)

My next-door, neighbor, Robbie Scher, Class of '68, remembers the Bird Cage having metal benches on which to sit.

Places to remember:  We did our school supply shopping at Chandler's on Davis and Sherman.

There was a restaurant downtown - Coolies?

Arthur Hallstrom

The production team is working on the "Remember ETHS 1964" Video for this fall reunion. Think I found this map of ETHS about the time we were there. ETHS had over 4000 students, went up to around 6000 in 1971. Now around 3600 students. Now 1.2 Million sq feet. Largest HS building under one roof in the US. 

Arthur Hallstrom

We have been searching for a high-resolution District 65 map from the 1960s for our 'Memories from ETHS Class of 1964' 80th Birthday Video. The best example we have found so far is shown below. It illustrates the district boundaries and the initial changes in 1967 made to desegregate the elementary schools. The lettered areas indicate neighborhoods where Black students may have been bused to other schools that had available space to relieve overcrowding. Have not found one prior to this one. 

Arthur Hallstrom

Always wondered how we were assigned to Halls. Like was it the Hall farest from your house so you had to walk the whole school at the start and end of the day? Seriously I asked AI and here was the response. 

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Currently, at Evanston Township High School (ETHS), students are  assigned to Halls (now more commonly referred to as Deans' Teams or Student Success Teams) using a randomized, balanced sorting process.

While the names Bacon, Beardsley, Boltwood, and Michael are still used historically, the school has largely shifted to directional and color-coded designations for these areas.

1. The Assignment Process

Unlike the elementary schools in District 65, which are assigned by neighborhood, ETHS Hall assignment is designed to prevent geographic or racial clustering.

• Method: Incoming freshmen are assigned to one of the four halls/teams by a computer algorithm.

• Criteria: The primary goal is diversity and balance. The administration ensures that every Hall/Team has a representative mix of students regarding:

  • Race/Ethnicity

  • Gender

  • Middle School origin (breaking up feeder school cliques)

  • Academic ability

• Siblings: Typically, younger siblings are assigned to the same Hall/Counselor team as their older siblings to help parents maintain a single point of contact with the school, though this can be overridden if requested.

2. Current Role of the Halls (vs. 1964)

If you remember the "Schools Within a School" model from the 1960s, the current system functions differently.

• Then (The 1960s Model): Students were assigned to a Hall (e.g., Boltwood) and took the vast majority of their core classes (English, Math, Social Studies) within that specific wing. The Hall was effectively your "school," and you rarely saw students from other Halls except in PE or Music.

• Now (Current Model): The Halls are primarily administrative and support hubs.

  • A student assigned to the "Red Team" (formerly North/Beardsley) will have their Counselor, Dean, and Social Worker located in that wing.

  • However, students travel freely throughout the entire building for classes. A "Red Team" student might have Math in the East Wing and English in the South Wing. The Hall is just their "home base" for support services and lockers.

3. The Name Changes

To make navigation easier for the 4,000+ students, the Halls were rebranded with directional and color indicators, though the historical names remain on the building facade:

Arthur Hallstrom

In researching for our ETHS Class for the 80th Birthday video I discovered the summary below:  (Note: The 64 yearbook pictures backed up the dress code observation. Seems all girls had skirts below the knee and the boy yearbook group pictures had ties.)

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The ETHS Class of 1964 is unique because it stood at the exact "pivot point" of the 20th century. You were the class that started high school in the conservative 1950s era (freshmen in 1960) but graduated just as the cultural revolution of the 1960s was exploding. 

Here are the most distinct facts about the Class of 1964:

1. The "JFK Class"

Your class is historically defined by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

• You were seniors (the leaders of the school) when it happened.

• While every class remembers where they were, it disrupted your senior year specifically, casting a shadow over the "golden" final year of high school.

• Note: Your class was also the first to experience the "British Invasion" as high schoolers. The Beatles debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, just months before your graduation.

2. The "Elite Eight" Basketball Run

While the 1968 team is famous for winning state, your senior year team (1963–64) was a powerhouse that set the stage for that later success.

• The Record: The 1964 team made it to the State Quarterfinals (Elite Eight)

• The Heartbreak: You lost to Decatur (Stephen Decatur HS) 73–59 in the quarterfinals at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall.

• The Context: This was the era of single-class basketball in Illinois, meaning ETHS had to beat every school of every size to get there.

3. Peak "Baby Boom" Enrollment

The Class of 1964 was part of the massive enrollment surge that defined ETHS in the mid-60s.

• Total School Size: There were roughly 4,100 students in the building during your senior year.

• Crowding: This massive population is what solidified the "Schools Within a School" system (Beardsley, Boltwood, Bacon, Michael) as a necessity for crowd control. You were among the first classes to experience this system fully matured, where you rarely left your designated wing for core classes.

4. Distinguished Alumni: Jack Rakove

Your class produced a Pulitzer Prize winner who is still honored by the alumni association today.

• Jack Rakove (Class of '64): A professor at Stanford University who won the Pulitzer Prize in History for his book on the U.S. Constitution (Original Meanings)

• The Legacy: The Class of 1964 established the "Jack Rakove Class of 1964 Award," a scholarship still given annually to an ETHS history student. This makes your class unique in having an active, named academic award funded by the class itself

5. The End of an Era

You were the last class to experience the "old" ETHS before the massive social changes of the late 60s took hold.

• Dress Codes: Your class still adhered to stricter 1950s-style dress codes (skirts for girls, no jeans) that would be challenged and dismantled by the classes of 1966–1969.

• Desegregation: You graduated just three years before Superintendent Gregory Coffin arrived (1967) to implement the busing and desegregation plans. Your class experienced the de facto segregated neighborhood feeder system (Foster/Dewey vs. Haven/Orrington) in its final, rigid form.

Arthur Hallstrom

Last onservation for today. I often wondered why many of our classmates suceeded in life and why we have stayed connected together for over 60 years. Why so many of us went to college. Why parents moved to District 202 just so their kids could attend ETHS. This might help answer those questions. 

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In the era of 1960–1966, there were no annual "U.S. News & World Report" style rankings like we see today. However, by the standards of the time, ETHS was widely considered the #1 comprehensive high school in the United States.

Its reputation during your time at ETHS was not just "top tier"—it was the specific model used to judge all other American high schools.

1. The "Lighthouse" of American Education

The primary source of this "Number 1" ranking came from Dr. James B. Conant, the former President of Harvard.

• The Study: In 1959–1960, Conant released his landmark study, The American High School Today. He traveled the country looking for the perfect model of a "comprehensive" high school—one that offered elite academics, strong vocational training, and diverse electives all under one roof.

• The Verdict: He singled out ETHS as the "lighthouse" school. He effectively declared it the model for the nation, stating that if other communities wanted to know what a high school should look like, they should look at Evanston.

2. The "Schools Within a School" Fame

The specific innovation that put ETHS at the top of national rankings was the Four Halls system (Beardsley, Boltwood, Bacon, Michael).

• Educators from across the world visited ETHS in the early 60s to see how a massive school (4,000+ students) could feel small and personalized.

• Because ETHS had successfully solved the problem of "big school anonymity" while keeping "big school resources" (like the massive swimming pool and technical wings), it was viewed as the pinnacle of school design in 1964.

3. Media Recognition

While modern lists are annual, major magazines of your era ran special features that cemented this ranking:

• Time Magazine & Ladies' Home Journal: In this era (specifically cited in a 1968 retrospective of the decade), ETHS was named one of the "Top Ten High Schools in America."

• The Kennedy Connection: There is a persistent memory among alumni that President Kennedy or a major administration report referred to ETHS as the "best high school in the country" around 1963, likely stemming from the Department of Education's heavy reliance on the Conant report.

4. Departmental Dominance

The ranking wasn't just general; it was specific to departments:

• English: ETHS was one of the original "Project English" demonstration centers established by the U.S. government, meaning its English curriculum was arguably the most advanced in the nation between 1962 and 1966.

• Swimming: Under Coach Dobbie Burton, the swim team wasn't just state champions; they were often considered the best high school team in the country, producing All-Americans annually.

Summary: If you told someone in 1964 that you went to the "best high school in America," you weren't exaggerating. According to the Harvard study that defined education in the 60s, you effectively did.

Phil Noble

Hey thanks you all! Bringing up some fine and (quite often) emotional memories - thought I should add Malcom Mosing's great English class (he convinced me to try out for Billy Budd & helped get me into Northwestern with a phat SAT score) - the super fine music dept and the fab broadway quality theater we enjoyed at ETHS. Wishing us all the best holiday season so far!

Lauren Dolinky (Moss)

Referring to memories: I was on the Wiebolts high school board (now gone) then representing Southern Illinois University on the Marshall Fields state street board, (now gone) then trained to be a buyer at Chas A Steven's and was assistant store manager in Hubbard Woods (now gone). Maybe I chose the wrong profession! In fact most of the department sores in London have closed leaving huge building empty. A sign of the times. 

Lauren Dolinky (Moss)

While at Nichols school we often went to Walker Bros on Main Street after school for cherry cokes and fries. We had to pay up front so that nobody could slip out without paying!

Marilyn Golan (Bogan)

LOOK Magazine - September 22, 1964 - Cover story "The Class of '68" about college freshmen in 1964 who would graduate in 1968 - that's us - says 3/4 of our ETHS class went to college.  Long story which included a 2-page photo of our whole class and a 2-page spread featuring Helga Zirkel.  I kept my copy.  Today, looking at the ads, is quite amusing.  Maybe someone else also has a copy and can post some of the photos.  My computer isn't allowing me to do that.

Thomas Starck

Ruth Gross

Jack's mention of The Spot for pizza made me think of the No Exit Cafe which was also on Foster St--and where I drank my first cup of coffee.  Anyone into folk music in those days spent lots of Friday and Saturday nights drinking coffee and listening to budding performers.

Patrick Furlong

The correct name for the small, hot-dog-and-hamburger (no fries) joint on the west side of Asbury, a half-block north of Howard, was Chez William's of Asbury. Ah, memories!

Jack Rakove

I went there last September. It was close to our house on Barton, overlooking the Skokie Swift tracks.

Sherrie Igoe (Dembrowski)

Susan Spiegel (Pastin)

Tthank you, Art for all your research!  And thank you all for all the memories!  I remember the life magazine article from 1964 about our class.  And I remember we were considered the top high school in the country.

Joel Robbins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLoEDUl3lg

hey anybody seen bernard grant

Susan Spiegel (Pastin)

Joel,  your links won't work unless they're in blue. I think you have to hit return so that they appear in blue. Then people can just tap them and have a listen!

And I guess it was Look Magazine, not Life.  At this point, I get them confused.  They both covered current events with lots of great pictures.

Paula Massey

I remember ice skating on the Lagoon in winter, and yes, Sue, It was Cooleys Cupboard ( I was trying to remember that name, thanks), Coburns for clothes, Meyers Bakery, Off the Hoof leather on Custer Ave, Ashkenaz restaurant in Rogers Park to name some others