"Come be part of this special moment and help create a new piece of Northbrook history!" That line comes from the Village's own listing for the 125th Anniversary Open House. It refers to one specific moment. At 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, everyone at Village Hall will be asked to gather and recreate a community photograph originally taken in 1925.
That one request sums up how Northbrook is closing its anniversary. Most of the year's 125 events were the usual summer ones, like Northbrook Days and Shermerfest. The November finale is different, because the people attending are part of what gets recorded. A village photo gets restaged with today's residents. The library is hanging art that Northbrook bought from its own competitions. A history talk brings the skaters and coaches in person. And the evening that formally ends the year takes place on the Village Green, next to a building that was moved there specifically to preserve it.
The calendar that's left
The Northbrook 125 events page lists just two anniversary events after mid-October. The Northbrook Public Library adds two related programs. Here they are in order:
- Now through November: The library's Village of Northbrook 125th Northbrook Anniversary exhibit of photography, paintings and portraits of Northbrook over the years.
- Wednesday, November 4, 7 to 8 p.m.: "How Northbrook Became the Speed Skating Capital of the World," in Pollak Room AB on the library's first floor.
- Sunday, November 15, 2 to 4 p.m.: The 125th Anniversary Open House at Northbrook Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane, with the photo recreation at 3:15 p.m.
- Friday, November 20, 5:30 to 7 p.m.: Illuminate Northbrook 125 at Village Green Park, 1810 Walters Avenue, with the holiday lights switched on at 6 p.m.
Fall already lost one event. Northbrook Brewfest, set for September 19, was canceled by the Village and the Park District because of a forecast of rain, thunderstorms and lightning. The Village said it could not be rescheduled this year and that ticket holders would be refunded. That leaves these four dates as the anniversary's final stretch.
The art on the library walls was paid for by the village
The library describes its October and November show as a look at Northbrook through photography, paintings and portraits, presented with the Northbrook Arts Commission. Arts Commission meeting minutes say where the work comes from. The plan was a curated display of works the village had purchased from earlier Plein Air Photo and Painting Competitions, all of them depicting Northbrook.
Plein air work is made outdoors, on site. That makes the exhibit a record of particular Northbrook streets, parks and buildings, painted and photographed by people who set up in front of them, and then bought by the village to keep. The minutes describe it as a temporary library show, not a permanent installation. It comes down when November ends, so this is the only chance to see the collection hung together.
Speed skating history, told by the people who made it
The November 4 talk follows the same idea. The library listing promises the story of the Northbrook Speed Skating Club and a chance to meet its coaches and Olympians.
The Village laid out the background in an April 2026 history piece. Ed Rudolph founded the club in 1952 and went on to coach the 1972 U.S. Olympic women's team. At the 1972 Winter Olympics, Northbrook skaters Anne Henning and Dianne Holum both won gold medals and added more podium finishes. Their results earned the village its "Speed Skating Capital of the World" nickname. The same Village article names Tom Anderson as the club's current head coach.
The scale has kept growing since 1972. When the club turned 70 in 2022, US Speedskating counted more than 20 Olympians among its members. Two gold medalists in one Olympics gave Northbrook its nickname. The Olympians who followed have kept it. When the people in the room are part of that record, the evening works as an oral history session as much as a lecture.
Two years after Shermerville, a photo worth retaking
The open house on November 15 is where the idea of residents in the record is most literal. The Village describes a full afternoon: music, birthday cake, Touch-a-Truck, historical displays and local artwork at Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane. RSVPs are "not required but are helpful," and the event page has a short form.
The date of the original photo matters. The Village's anniversary gallery notes that Shermerville officially became Northbrook in 1923. The 1925 image therefore shows the community in its first couple of years under its current name, early in the village's history as Northbrook. The invitation is written for everyone: "Whether you have deep roots in Northbrook or are new to the community."
A few practical points for the afternoon:
- Arrive before 3:15 p.m. The photo happens at a fixed time in the middle of a two-hour event.
- Families with young children may want to plan around Touch-a-Truck, which is part of the same program.
- The historical displays and local artwork at Village Hall add to the library exhibit. Seeing both in the same month gives the fullest picture of how Northbrook has documented itself.
The building on the Green was moved there to be saved
The anniversary year officially ends five days later. The listing for Illuminate Northbrook 125 invites residents downtown to "kick off the holiday season and celebrate the conclusion of Northbrook's 125 year." The program offers free hot chocolate and a countdown to the 6 p.m. lighting, and it encourages people to shop and eat downtown afterward.
Its location fits the theme. Village Green Park, at 1810 Walters Avenue, shares the Green with the Northbrook History Museum at 1776 Walters Avenue. The anniversary gallery tells the building's story:
The Northbrook History Museum building, formerly the Bartleme's Northfield Inn (built 1894), was moved in January 1975 from the corner of Waukegan and Shermer roads to its current location at 1776 Walters Avenue on the Village Green.
The inn was built in 1894, nearly three decades before Shermerville became Northbrook in 1923. More than fifty years ago, the community chose to move the whole building rather than lose it. As the anniversary ends under the new holiday lights, the museum building will stand a short distance from the celebration, itself one of the village's oldest preserved records. The Northbrook Historical Society runs the museum. The Village's notice for the 2025 Shermerfest mentioned guided tours of the building. Check with the Historical Society for its current hours before planning a visit that night.
How the summer set this up
Looking back at the summer explains why November is built this way. The anniversary calendar started with outdoor, large-crowd events: the Flamingo Friday 125 kickoff on June 5, the Northbrook Farmers Market opening bash on June 17 and Grapes on the Green on June 20. July and August added the Fourth of July, the Northbrook Grand Prix on July 23, National Night Out on August 4 and the Northbrook Days Festival from August 5 to 9. Shermerfest followed on September 27 and the Northbrook Fire Department Open House on October 3.
Shermerfest, for one, has run since 1979. The November events are built around the anniversary itself and are smaller in scale. Each one asks residents to contribute something: a face in a photo, memories of the rink, a look at art the village collected. The summer events mostly asked people to show up.
Planning the month around downtown
All four remaining dates are in East Northbrook, and the three single-day events fall within about two and a half weeks. One way to plan November:
- Late October or early November: See the library exhibit before the skating talk. The two cover the same period of village life in two forms, painted and remembered.
- November 4: Get to the library before 7 p.m. for Pollak Room AB.
- November 15: Arrive at Village Hall by early afternoon so you're in place for the 3:15 p.m. photo.
- November 20: Be at Village Green Park by 5:30 p.m. for hot chocolate before the 6 p.m. lighting, then head into downtown's shops and restaurants afterward, as the Village suggests.
The 2026 version of the 1925 photograph will be taken at Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane, at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, November 15.
At Lyn Wise Group, we follow Northbrook's history down to individual blocks and buildings, because a home's story is part of its value. If the anniversary has you wondering where your own Northbrook home fits into that story today, we can show you with recent sales from your street. Request a Home Valuation & Market Plan.
