Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a day of thanks. Evanstonians have a multitude of blessings for which we are grateful. One of our blessings is the new Robert Crown Community Center. As almost every Evanstonian knows, our “crown jewel” has a public library branch, a state-licensed child care, after-school program facilities, an art room, a running track, two gymnasiums, two ice rinks, a dance center, outdoor turf fields for soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball and field hockey.
Crown is handicap-accessible and has night lights for the fields and plenty of parking. Young and old enjoy these beautiful facilities each and every day. Thousands of children over many generations will learn, gain confidence, and develop lifelong friendships at the new Crown.
Evanston RoundTable recently [linked to] a piece from The Daily Northwestern that incorrectly reported that Evanstonians are “divided over [Crown’s] impact” and “are still debating whether the final product is worth the price.” Alas, such assertions are unfounded. More than 1,400 families made contributions, some as small as $5, to help create their new community center. Some community groups baked and sold cookies, had skate parties and organized candy sales to demonstrate buy-in and support. Visit, enjoy, smile, admire.
No divisions. No uncertainty about impact. Evanstonians are proud of their new community center and are grateful to the thousands of Evanstonians who made it a reality.
Michael Davis
Uh no the assertion is not “unfounded”. There are plenty of Evanstonians who would prefer a less costly RC, and it was entirely possible. And no, the new RC was not funded by your cute little homespun anecdote about candy and bake sales, but by $50 million bonds approved by the City Council, half of which lost their jobs in 2021.
I am very thankful for the new Robert Crown Community Center. It’s pretty amazing and it’s getting used by the citizenry daily, even the fields. Every single day! Really glad they pulled it off. Thank you!