The Sears Centre Arena has been a Hoffman Estates icon for a decade, but a major new development this year is its becoming the home court for the Chicago Bulls' new Development League team, the Windy City Bulls.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates is a quintessential Northwest suburb whose entire history from barns and still undeveloped land to state-of-the-art corporate campuses, arenas and medical centers can be seen on a drive through the sprawling community in 2016.
Today's village is about 19 square miles in area, with nearly 10 miles separating the easternmost point of Conant High School to Sears Holdings' national headquarters to the west.
This one-time farming area's transformation into Hoffman Estates began in 1954, when a 160-acre farm was sold to Sam and Jack Hoffman of the Father and Son Construction Company for a subdivision east of Roselle Road between Golf and Higgins roads.
When early residents voted to incorporate the village in 1959, it was still under 3 square miles in size and home to about 8,000 people. The population has since grown to approximately 52,000.
Hoffman Estates embarked on rapid growth in the early 1960s, with the start of land annexations north of the tollway.
Office building developments in the 1980s paved the way for the arrival of Ameritech's 1.2 million-square-foot headquarters in 1991 and Sears Holdings' 1.9 million-square-foot headquarters in 1992.
The adjacent 780-acre Prairie Stone Business Park was founded with office and research uses in mind. It has since been augmented by such entertainment and retail uses as the Sears Centre Arena — soon home to the Chicago Bulls' Development League franchise, the Windy City Bulls — as well as Cabela's and the forthcoming Main Event family entertainment center and a Duluth Trading Co. store.
The village is home to two high schools and several of the buildings in Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 — the largest elementary-only school district in Illinois.
Take a look around and let us know which icons of Hoffman Estates are special to you. Which ones stir a memory for you? Where do you love to go in town?
Look for a new “Icons of ...” town gallery every Sunday at dailyherald.com/galleries and on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. On our social media sites, share your favorite Medinah photos with us by using #shareyoursuburb.
Boats for sale are shown in front of Hoffman Estates' Cabela's store in the Prairie Stone Business Park at the west end of the village.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Sears Holdings' corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates is a stunning architectural work to which a photograph can hardly do justice.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates' new German beer garden, Das Bier Garden, is about to begin its second summer of operation on the Village Green adjacent to the Prairie Stone Business Park.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Though well known for its many businesses, Hoffman Estates is blessed with natural areas as well including this wetland on the southern edge of the former AT&T corporate campus, where many waterfowl nest in the trees.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The former AT&T corporate campus in Hoffman Estates is becoming an area ripe for new development. German manufacturing firm Trumpf Inc. will soon build a state-of-the-art tech center on five acres at the southern end of the 70-acre site.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates' St. Alexius Medical Center is the nearest hospital and health care campus not only for most residents of the village but also for those of several surrounding communities.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The Vogelei Barn is owned and operated by the Hoffman Estates Park District and provides party and banquet space for rent.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The Hoffman Estates Police Department began operating out of this 79,000-square-foot, $28 million facility in 2010 to replace its former, outdated headquarters.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
A photograph of Conant High School's cougar mascot gazes out at motorists along Plum Grove Road through the building's big front windows.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates High School's sprawling white building forges its own distinct presence among the many businesses along Higgins Road.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hilldale Golf Club is one of three golf courses in Hoffman Estates.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates converted the former Safeco Insurance Co. office building into its new village hall in the early 1990s.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The village's initials form part of the landscaping along the driveway entrance to Hoffman Estates village hall at 1900 Hassell Road.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The spacefaring mascot of Ricky Rockets Fuel Center greets patrons and passing motorists from atop the business on Barrington Road in Hoffman Estates.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Estates' Poplar Creek at 59/90 is an emerging entertainment, dining, lodging and shopping district north and west of the intersection of Illinois Route 59 and Interstate 90 (the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway). The district's logo is meant to resemble a tollway interchange.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Between the departure of Poplar Creek Music Theater and the arrival of the Sears Centre Arena, the Chicago Marriott Northwest stood largely alone, approximating the location of Hoffman Estates' western edge for motorists on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
Hoffman Lanes closed last summer, but the approximately 50-year-old bowling alley's iconic sign still greets motorists on Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates in 2016.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The barnlike building of Hoffman Estates' future Duluth Trading Co. store begins to take shape in the Prairie Stone Business Park near the Sears Centre Arena.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The Triphahn Community Center and Ice Arena is not only the main headquarters of the Hoffman Estates Park District but also the practice facility of the Chicago Wolves professional hockey team.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
The Sunderlage Historic Farmhouse, which celebrates its 160th anniversary this year, is located at 1775 Vista Lane in Hoffman Estates.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com
This statue at the Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club in Hoffman Estates honors the memory of the late Scott R. Triphahn, a lifelong pillar of the community who served as a Hoffman Estates Park District commissioner and was the founding president of the Hoffman Estates Parks Foundation.
Eric Peterson/epeterson@dailyherald.com